


The Scars of Magic

by angryschnauzer



Category: The Covenant (2006)
Genre: Angst, Apologies, Attempted Assault, Drinking, F/M, Feels, Fingering, Fluff and feels in the first chapter, Kitchen Sex, Magic, More Smooching, Morning Fumbles in Bed, Nipple Play, Oral Sex (female), Oral Sex (male), Past Emotional Anguish, Public Sex, Rated Explicit for future chapters, Rebound Emotions, Rough Sex, Storms, Telekinetic Fingering, unprotected sex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-23
Updated: 2016-10-29
Packaged: 2018-08-24 04:51:47
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 28,818
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8358022
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/angryschnauzer/pseuds/angryschnauzer
Summary: When Bonnie Greaves starts as a Librarian and Teaching Assistant at the prestigious Spenser Academy in the sleepy town of Ispwich, she i unaware of the magical history of the town. When a handsome stranger and a mysterious colleague then come into her life, she finds herself in a situation that will prove to be more magical and logical.





	1. Chapter 1

Bonnie slammed her car door shut and pulled her cardigan further around her body, smiling into the cold wind that was whipping the fallen leaves around her ankles. Fall was her favourite time of the year; rich colours, cool days, morning frosts, and the promise of cosy evenings with the sound of raindrops hitting the windowpanes.

The heels of her boots clicked on the sidewalk as she hurried into the impressive school building, a spring in her step as she made her way to the administration offices to collect her staff ID on her first day.

She’d been hired as the assistant librarian, a part time position with the promise of onsite training to supplement her hours to become a TA – teaching assistant – to the professors of the prestigious academy. Furthermore once the students started the new semester, they could also sign up to her piano tutorials for extra credit. For someone that had barely managed to put herself through community college, she felt a pang of pride as she found herself walking through the hallowed halls of the school.

Orientation found her sitting in the Provost’s office – in her mind he’d always be a Principal no matter what word they wanted to title him – along with the other new hire’s for the semester. Her attention had waned as she took in the dark surroundings in the office, but her boss’s voice brought her back to the present;

“...and since I replaced my predecessor last year I have relaxed the rules with regards to staff leaving the site during school hours. We have changed with the times and realised that we needed to modernise our thinking, and acknowledge that we may have errands to run during office hours” he paused for a moment before smiling; “We also acknowledge that the cafeteria sells truly terrible coffee, and that you may wish to visit the coffee shops on main street in order to get enough caffeine to make it through the day of teaching our students”

A ripple of laughter echoed around the room, the ten or so new hires that were all on edge now starting to relax a little. The sound of the door quietly opening and clicking closed had the Provost glancing up, and Bonnie watched his expression change as he spoke;

“Ah, Professor Pope, so kind that you could join us. You’ve missed most of the orientation but if you wouldn’t mind staying behind I’ll run few a things by you... I’m sure one of our other new starters will be happy to help you find your way around”

“Thank you Sir”

Professor Pope’s voice was low and gravelly, creeping across the room and making Bonnie want to hear more. Where she was sat towards the front of the group she was unable to turn and look without being overtly obvious, but out of the corner of her eye she could see a tall man at the back of the room, his dark suit and hair helping him to blend into the shadows, yet his piercing pale blue eyes shone bright through the darkness, scanning the room as the provost returned his attention back to the new recruits. When his gaze fell upon Bonnie she felt a shiver run down her spine as she dragged her attention away from him, yet when she tried to listen to the rest of the orientation she could feel those blue eyes burning holes in her back.

When the meeting was over she filed out of the room with everyone else, noticing that Professor Pope hung back, and as she watched over her shoulder from the corridor she saw him glance at her before closing the door to continue his meeting.

Soon caught up in the laughter and conversations of the other new starters, Bonnie found herself being introduced to the Head Librarian; Samuel Whittle, a wizened and aged man drawing close to retirement, but one who had a chirpy attitude and once the rest of the group had left to find their own departments she found herself enjoying his company as they chatted over coffee;

“So Bonnie, what brings you to the Spenser Academy? Would it be the rich history, or the legends that lie with the town?”

Bonnie looked up at the old man;

“The legends?”

“Ah my child, there is much history you need to learn about this place, a tale of witchcraft and intrigue”

He grinned at her as he settled into the comfortable chair in his study and started his tale;

“The town of Ipswich was founded by four families, each having escaped the Witch Trials in Salem just a year before. The power within those families soon helped the town to prosper, over time funding this prestigious school. Of course their offspring were automatically accepted into learning here, but with as the generations passed the Wiccan powers also travelled down the bloodlines, the first born always being male, and soon the Sons of Ipswich became known to be arrogant and entitled elitists...”

The old man paused for a moment, trying to gauge Bonnie’s reaction;

“Miss Greaves, do you believe in magic?”

She paused before answering, trying to gather her thoughts;

“I’m not sure. I’ve never had any reason to consider the possibility” she looked down at her coffee as the mug grew cold in her hands; “What happened to the families? Do the son’s still attend here?”

Shaking his head, Samuel’s expression relaxed a little;

“No, thankfully. The last time we had the Son’s of Ipswich attend was ten years ago. Two graduated, the other two fell in with a bad crowd from the wrong side of town and were expelled. The families have moved away as well...”

He got up from his chair and topped up his coffee mug from the pot that sat on the machine, offering it to Bonnie but she shook her head to politely decline as he continued his story;

“I must say there was quite a drama when they were last here, all sorts of strange goings on. I think the Sheriff’s Department was particularly pleased to see the back of them. And then there was the fire...”

“The fire?”

“One of the town’s oldest buildings was burnt to the ground the night of the Homecoming Dance, the Fall Ball. One of the Son’s was said to be involved, yet there was never any proof of any wrong doing on his part... I do wonder if his families influence with the Mayor had anything to do with the case being dropped” he cleared his throat as he settled back into his chair; “Anyway, that brings us up to the present. The last decade has proven to be a lot less eventful that the time before it, and I for one and happy with that as I have needed a somewhat calmer atmosphere as I coast towards retirement”

The sound of the school bell ringing out to signify the start of lunch break sounded at that point, Samuel resting his coffee mug on the side;

“Time for a break from my wittering on young lady. I fully recommend visiting the coffee shops in town rather than our cafeteria, the coffee there is almost as bad as mine”

He grinned as he watched her place her own mug onto the table;

“Sorry about that Mr Whittle, mine went a little cold as I was listening to you”

“Oh poppycock young lady!” he laughed; “But I ask if you do go to town, could you return with one of those Pumpkin Pie Coffee’s from the mermaid coffee shop?”

Bonnie nodded her head, not having a clue what he was talking about but hoping that all would come clear once she was in town and could find his ‘mermaid’ coffee shop.

Half an hour later Bonnie found herself wandering along Main Street, the stores decorated for Halloween and Thanksgiving even though both were a good few weeks away. She’d searched amongst the stores and businesses for the coffee shop Samuel had mentioned, but upon her third loop of the single streeted town she let out a sigh. A soft chuckle came from behind her making her spin around;

“Sorry! Did you want to get past?”

Before she had even finished speaking Bonnie saw the warm smile from the man that stood behind her, standing half off to one side, his hair shielding his face from her as he spoke;

“No, you’re fine... you look a little lost?”

Bonnie let out a sigh;

“I’m sorry, I’m new in town... my boss asked me to get him something from the ‘mermaid coffee shop’...” she made quotation marks in the air as she spoke; “But I’ve walked three loops of main street and can’t find the damn place...”

“I’m heading there myself, I can show you?” he paused for a moment, turning a little further towards Bonnie; “Perhaps I could buy you a coffee?”

There was something about this man that made Bonnie feel welcome yet on edge at the same time; unable to pinpoint exactly what it was, but as she stood there in the street the cool autumn wind blew in gusts around them she saw a pair of piercing blue eyes staring back at her;

“I’d like that” she smiled at him and held out her hand; “I’m Bonnie by the way”

He tentatively pulled his hand from his pocket and took hers, shaking it gently;

“Chase”

The moment her fingers touched his she felt a strange bolt of energy surge through her, and as she held his hand she saw the silvery scars that ran over his skin. Realising she had been holding his hand for longer than necessary she slowly released her grip, smiling at him as she did so. Falling into step next to him they walked in a comfortable silence along the sidewalk until he paused, pointing up to a sign above their heads and announcing they had arrived.

Pushing in the doorway to the ‘mermaid coffee shop’ Bonnie was trying hard not to laugh at how her elderly boss had in fact sent her on a while goose chase;

“Starbucks...” she muttered under her breath; “I should have known the old goat was playing tricks on me”

Chase briefly turned to her, the corner of his mouth curling into a smile;

“I hear it was how the corporate planners sold it to the town, there had been opposition to large chain stores, so that’s what it’s now know as around here”

Standing in line they ordered their drinks, Bonnie moving to grab packets of sugar and wooden stirrers. As she returned to the counter she approached Chase from the other side, realising the whole time he’d been with her he had always been standing to her right, and it was only now that she saw the far side of his face, and the burn scars that traced their way up his jaw line and cheek. Trying not to react she stood next to him, willing herself not to stare, thankful when the barista finally handed over their order. She let him lead the way to where he wanted to sit, not surprised when he chose the long row of stools that lined the large steamed up window running along the front of the store, nor when he took the last stool on the right. She set her drink down and climbed onto the high stool, realising that it would probably be something he would do subconsciously; always sit people to his left to hide his scars.

Wobbling slightly as she tried to perch on the unstable stool, Bonnie let out a little squeak as she tried to balance, only to find a strong hand steadying her;

“Thank you” she laughed as Chase held her forearm, that surge of energy sparking through the skin of her arm where his fingers touched her.

Coyly settling into her seat, Bonnie soon found herself in comfortable conversation with him, Chase asking about her interests, her work, what brought her to town;

“I’m not quite sure” she laughed as she stirred her drink absentmindedly; “There’s just something magical about it here”

“Magical?” he asked, cocking his eyebrow as his lips curled into a smile

“Oh you know what I mean!” Bonnie felt her cheeks redden; “Its something about Fall, everywhere looks so homely and cosy. The leaves turning, crisp mornings, evenings curled up with good company, a good book and a big cup of hot chocolate... do you know what I mean?”

Chase shook his head a little;

“I think it might be a chick thing... I’m not really one for hot chocolate”

Bonnie felt her smile falter, presuming that he had missed her attempt at flirting.

“But...” he continued; “The good company sounds nice though”

For a moment they held each other’s gaze, but something drew Bonnie’s attention away and as she glanced up at the clock above the counter she was surprised to see how quickly her time in town had passed;

“Shit! Sorry, I’ve got to get back to work!”

Chase stood as she pulled her cardigan on, his fingers brushing against her bare arms as he did so, and she yet again felt that small tingle of something as he did so;

“Oh hey, remember you need to get your boss a coffee”

“God! I’d completely forgotten! Thank you!” She stood for a moment in front of him, nervous like a schoolgirl; “Can I... can I see you again?”

She actually watched as Chase blushed a little;

“I’d like that. Friday night? There’s a bar down the street that serves great burgers and fries...”

“Sounds good” Bonnie licked her lips nervously; “7 o’clock?”

They agreed and Chase waited with her as she got Samuels drink to take out, pushing out of the door and pausing on the sidewalk, Bonnie hooking her thumb over her shoulder;

“I’m this way...”

“Right...”

For a moment they paused, and she held her breath as she watched Chase reach out his hand and take hers in it, briefly pulling it up to his lips and kissing it gently before releasing it;

“See you Friday”

As she walked away Bonnie tried to resist temptation to look back, but her will failed and as she glanced over her shoulder she felt a surge of pride as she saw Chase still standing on the sidewalk watching her go, giving a small wave as she turned the corner out of sight.

~*~

Bonnie’s walk back to the school had been a brisk one, the clouds darkening to threaten rain, and as her boots clicked on the path as she crossed the campus she felt the first few drops fall on her head. By the time she reached the library building she was running through the puddles that had gathered already, her hair and cardigan soaked through. Pushing through the doorway she paused for a moment, a sixth sense telling her that there was something – someone – else in the library other than Samuel;

“Mr Whittle?” she called out, a stony silence greeting her; “Samuel... I’m back. I’ve got your coffee...”

She rested the paper cup on the counter that sat next to the door as she shrugged her soaked cardigan off; “You may want to reheat it in the microwave, it’s really cold out there now”

“You look a little wet...”

She heard the voice before she saw who it was coming from, a figure seemingly coming out of the shadows;

“Professor Pope”

The tall man stood in front of her, his gaze raking up and down her soaked body and she suddenly felt very self conscious, painfully aware that the rain had soaked through to her t-shirt and it was now clinging to her skin.

“Miss Greaves... you’re mine now...”

Before Bonnie could respond, Samuel appeared out of his office, smiling when he saw her;

“Ah Bonnie, you’re back. And you got my coffee!” he took the cup and sipped from the cap; “Professor Pope called by” the elderly gentleman nodded to the young professor that was still standing before Bonnie, his hands in his pockets and a smirk on his face; “You’ve been assigned to him for part of your TA training”

Bonnie wasn’t sure what to say, she certainly hadn’t expected her training to be assigned to her on the first day, and especially not to the newest professor. However she swallowed the lump in her throat and cleared her voice, holding her hand out to Professor Pope;

“Umm thank you...”

He took her hand, shaking it firmly before releasing it. As she looked up into his eerily pale blue eyes there was something familiar about him that she couldn’t quite place.

“No... Thank you”

For a moment he held her gaze, his tongue darting out to briefly wet his lips before he looked up and nodded to Samuel, making his way out of the library.

“What a pleasant young man” Samuel commented as he got back to work, pulling batches of texts from the shelves; “I can guarantee you’ll enjoy his class young lady”

“What does he teach?”

“English Literature. I’m just pulling out the copies of Hamlet; it looks like he’s starting with the seniors on Friday that should be an interesting end to the week for you”

As Bonnie watched Samuel move around slowly she thought over what had just happened, and suddenly Friday couldn’t come quick enough, yet at the same time she wanted as long as possible until she had to work with Professor Pope, something about the man gave her the chills.


	2. Chapter 2

It was with some apprehension that Bonnie found herself entering Professor Pope’s classroom, the foreboding Amphitheatre raised tiers where the pupils sat making it feel like a bull ring or court room. She knew that part of this feeling was the fact that she would have a whole class of students watching her, but what made her more nervous was the Professor himself. They were not on first name terms, and although she’d had a number of meetings with him and the rest of the faculty – of which the Library was included – he always addressed her as Miss Greaves.

As the students filed into their seats she busied herself with leaving a stack of books at the end of each row, the students on autopilot as they took one and passed it along. Upon reaching the back row that she was surprised to find was empty, she took a seat at the top of the isle, knowing that the first portion of the class would be where the students were taught by Professor Pope. It would only be in the latter half that they would be set a task and that would be when she could be called upon to help anyone that needed it.

She need not have worried as it soon became clear that this was not the first time the class had covered Hamlet, and as they worked through their assignments she watched as the Professor stalked around the room, checking on students quietly as he moved around silently with his hands clasped firmly behind his back. It was still annoying Bonnie that he reminded her of someone, but she pushed it from her mind as she started to leaf through one of the spare copies.

“I do so enjoy the view from up here”

The quiet whisper next to her made Bonnie jump, having not heard the Professor silently make his way up the far isle and along the empty back row and was now sat nonchalantly in the seat next to her;

“Jesus... i didn’t hear you sit down! What are you, a freaking ghost or something?”

He laughed quietly, glancing down at his thigh as he crossed one leg over the other, picking at a non existent speck of lint on his thigh;

“No... just a former student that remembers where all the loose floorboards are that creak. I spent a certain amount of time in the back row of these classrooms”

He looked at her in the same way he had back in the Library at the start of the week, his gaze covering her with an icy chill as his tongue darted out and wetted his lips. She was unable to tell if he was flirting with her or trying to scare her, either way it wasn’t exactly professional behaviour, and it made her sit straighter in her seat, her eyes moving back to the class sitting below them. It was then that she spotted that one of the students was playing on their phone, the screen illuminated clearly on an instant messenger app;

“Phone”

“I’m sorry?”

She turned to Professor Pope and pointed to the student, speaking quietly;

“Professor, one of your students is using their phone in class”

He sighed deeply and rolled his eyes, and she sensed that he was more annoyed that his time sat next to her had been interrupted than that one of the class was breaking the rules on the very first day. As he got up she moved her legs to the side so he could pass, averting her eyes as he slid past, her gaze level with his stomach – and other things – and watched as he descended the stairs to confiscate the cell phone from the student.

The rest of the class was uneventful, the Professor kept his distance, yet she found her attention drawn back to him as he rounded off the class with homework assignments. Once the students filed out after the final bell, Bonnie went around collecting the books, stacking them at the end of the isles before ferrying them down to the library cart. As she stacked the last of the copies she glanced up at the clock, noticing that it was already well past 5pm;

“Will there be anything else Professor?”

He was glancing over his lesson notes and looked up, a frown on his face;

“Yes, I need to go through my lesson plan for next week with you to make sure you know the subject matter”

Bonnie went to comment that lessons ended at 5pm plus had wanted to get home first before meeting Chase, but she bit her tongue, knowing that it was clearly written in her contract that after hours meetings would be mandatory should they be required. The next hour was spent making notes as the Professor dictated what was planned, Bonnie relieved that she knew the subject matter and thus didn’t have any additional reading assignments for the weekend, but as the minutes ticked by she grew more anxious, knowing she would have to scrap her plans to change before her ‘date’.

When the clock showed 6.45pm she shifted nervously in her seat, the corner of the Professors mouth curling up slightly into a smirk;

“Do you have somewhere else you need to be Miss Greaves?”

Bonnie cleared her throat;

“Yes, actually. I had made plans this evening”

Professor Pope sat back in his chair, closing his lesson planner before folding his hands behind his head, stretching out and elongating his body in a dominant pose;

“Well... why didn’t you say so? We can pick this up on Monday before class”

Bonnie leapt from her seat and grabbed her bag, deciding to get out of there as quickly as possible – before he changed his mind -  not looking back to say goodbye as she made her way out into the deserted hallway. It was only when she started to push through the main door did the temperature hit her and she realised she’d left her jacket behind in the classroom. Letting the door slam closed she ran back, barging in the door to the classroom;

“Professor Pope, its only me; Bonnie... i forgot my jacket...”

Reaching for it as it hung on the back of the door she was greeted with a stony silence, the room empty of life;

“Huh... i wonder where he went?” she mused to herself, pulling her jacket on as she glanced around the room. Glancing at the clock she saw that the time was edging closer and closer to 7pm, so killing the light switch and closing the door behind her she ran along the corridor and out into the cold night air.

Jumping in her car she shoved the key into the ignition and turned it, but when the sound of the engine turning over but not firing it had her groaning and resting her head against the wheel;

“No... Please... not tonight...”

After countless rather fruitless attempts she conceded that her car wasn’t going to play ball. Climbing out of the door and slamming it shut with a scream her phone chimed out her reminder alert for her date;

“Yes... i know, _thank you_ ” she said sarcastically to no-one, cursing that she would now have to walk into town and would no doubt be late for meeting Chase. Pulling her jacket closer to her body she clutched her bag and started to walk briskly through the quiet streets towards her destination.

As she turned the corner onto main street twenty minutes later she scanned the sidewalk for the sign to the bar where she had agreed to meet Chase. Hurrying along the street, small wisps of mist hung in the air, the leaves that had fallen from the trees that lined the street crunching under the soles of her boots. Ahead she saw the door to the bar open and the sound of muffled rock music spilling out into the night air. The silhouette of a man stood for a moment before starting towards a truck that was parked out front. For a moment she watched this person before she realised she knew who it was;

“Chase!” she called out as she broke into a run to catch up; “Wait! Please!”

Arriving in front of his truck she rested her hands on her hips as she tried to catch her breath, bent almost double from having abandoned her fitness regime months previously;

“Please... I’m sorry i’m late... My car...” she panted out in short bursts

He stood at the side of his truck, looking down at his keys and not meeting her gaze;

“Its ok, i get it... You only agreed to meet me out of pity and thought if you turned up late i’d have given up waiting”

There was an inherent sadness in his voice, as if that had happened many times before.

“No! Not at all! Chase... please... let me explain...”

She paused, waiting to see if all was lost as he stood with his back to her. But slowly he turned towards her and she saw that his eyes glistened with a sadness threatening to spill over;

“Okay...”

Bonnie took a deep breath before suddenly words were tumbling out of her mouth, unable to stop;

“I’ve been assigned my TA place but the Professor that i’m assisting called a meeting that dragged on after the last class... I had originally planned to go home and change into something a little more glamorous...” she pulled at the boring pantsuit she was wearing; “but by the time we finished up there was barely enough time to drive to get here on time... and then my piece of crap car decided not to start, and i had to walk here... please... if i’d had your number i would have called, but i couldn’t even remember the name of the bar, only where it was on main street or i would have called there... please Chase...” she looked at him expectantly, her own emotions now threatening to spill into tears from the fear that she may have inadvertently hurt his feelings.

The air hung tense around them as she waited for a response, but instead she was met with only silence. Admitting defeat she turned on her heel and took a deep breath, preparing to walk away before she hurt his feeling any further, but that was when she felt a gentle hand rest on her arm;

“Bonnie...”

Turning slowly she looked up at him, the light from the illuminated bar signs catching the silvery scars that ran down the side of his face, giving them a golden glow that seemed to make him even more attractive. She couldn’t help it when she felt her bottom lip waiver, the first tear spilling down her cheek as she saw a kind smile spread across his lips. She found herself instinctively leaning towards him, his arms wrapping around her and holding her tight as she apologised again into the soft denim of his jacket, relief that he didn’t want to end things before they even started. His smooth voice reverberated through his chest as she clung to him;

“Bonnie... i’m sorry for overreacting. I’ve... I’ve just not had the greatest of luck when it comes to dating since... well... since my accident...”

Pulling away from his chest she looked up at him, wiping her tears away with the cuff of her jacket;

“Sorry... i seem to have left a wet patch on you”

He glanced down at the pale denim jacket and smiled;

“Isn’t that what dating is all about? Wet patches?” He cocked his eyebrow at her and they both burst out into fits of laughter, relief flooding over both of them; “Come on, let’s try and start this date again, let me buy you a drink?”

Bonnie nodded and took his arm as he held it out for her, walking the short distance from his truck to the bar before he held the door for her and they stepped inside. It was a typical small town bar, busier than she would have expected, but still they were able to find a booth towards the back that had waitress service.

“Welcome to Nicky’s, what can i get’cha?”

The waitress asked cheerfully whilst chewing gum, not really looking at either of them as she held her notepad up waiting for their order. Bonnie paused having not even had chance to look at a menu, but thankfully Chase spoke up;

“The burgers here are great...”

As if on cue her stomach rumbled, agreeing with Chase as he ordered Cheeseburger and Fries, a couple of beers on tap to come ahead of the food.

As they talked through their meal the troubles of her day seemed to ebb away, fresh beers arriving when their plates were cleared away. As she sipped the frost mug of the strong local brew Bonnie grinned at Chase as he watched her;

“What? Do i have foam on my nose?”

She saw him blush a little as lowered his gaze for a moment before he spoke softly;

“No, i’m sorry. I didn’t mean to stare” he paused as he looked up to her again; “I just can’t believe i’m on a date with such a pretty girl... woman...” he corrected himself as his blush grew.

Bonnie felt her own cheeks redden, she hadn’t had the best of luck when dating so to find herself with a kind and handsome man happy to spend time with her she found herself blushing;

“You think i’m pretty?” she stammered out

She watched as Chase got a little flustered, his breath stammering out of his lips as he raked his hand through his long hair;

“Yes... very much so...”

As their words hung in the air neither were sure what to do or say, but as the jukebox in the corner started up Bonnie smiled;

“Would you like to dance?”

“Dance?” Chase looked a little surprised

“Yes, dance... you know; when two people kind of move around in time to the music?” Bonnie couldn’t help herself, when she’d had alcohol she got a little cheeky, but her grin told Chase that she was happy to have asked. As she waited for an answer she watched as he stood and shrugged off his jacket, standing her side of the booth with his hand extended to her.

Soon Bonnie found herself being held in his arms, the songs playing a selection of classic hits from a while back, easy to dance to as she rested her hands on his firm arms, feeling his muscles beneath the long sleeves of his tshirt.

“Are you not too warm in these?” she asked as he gently touched the forearms of his sleeves

Chase stopped dancing and looked down at her, his eyes sad;

“I’m not ready to show my arm...”

Suddenly Bonnie realised the error of what she’d said; his scars clearly visible on his hand and wrist where she had her fingers resting against his skin. She realised that no doubt they were worse on the parts of him that she couldn’t see;

“I’m sorry Chase... i didn’t mean...”

Before they could continue their conversation a loud voice came booming over the PA system;

“Our band will be starting up in just a few minutes, so get ready to ROCK!”

The sounds of electric guitars sound testing told them both that their dancing would be ending sooner than they had expected, Chase hooking his thumb over his shoulder;

“Shall we make a move?”

Bonnie nodded in agreement, wincing as the feedback from the mic’s too close to the amps screeched out over the room. Paying off their tab and grabbing their jackets just as the band shouted out a loud welcome to the rowdy crowd that had now gathered in the bar. Just as they were stepping out onto the cool sidewalk the first few raspy bars of the bands music started, both Chase and Bonnie wincing as the loud screeching assaulted their ears, both laughing they let the door swing closed and stood for a moment relishing in the relative silence of the quiet main street of Ipswich.

“I’m sorry Chase” Bonnie finally said as their laughter had died away

“About?”

“My comment about being hot in there... i didn’t think...”

Chase stood for a moment looking confused before a kind smile tweaked at the corners of his mouth;

“Its ok... really. If anything it made me feel ok”

“Really?”

“Yeah, like you were able to look past the scars that you could see...”

Bonnie stood on the sidewalk nervously biting her lip as she looked up at him, not sure where the evening was leading until Chase cleared his throat;

“So... can i walk you home?” he asked bashfully

“Sure, that would be nice”

At the same moment they turned in opposite directions, bumping into each other as they did;

“Sorry!” Bonnie laughed

“Do you not live at the school in the teacher housing?”

She shook her head;

“No, i chose to get an apartment in town. It worked out more cost effective in the long run as the onsite accommodation would have meant more was deducted from my pay each month then the cost of a private rental... i’m just off of Harbour Street”

“Oh hey, that’s on my way”

Chase crooked his arm for Bonnie, watching as she slipped her own arm into his and they started to walk along the abandoned street.

“You know Bonnie, i could take a look at your car tomorrow if you wanted?”

She let out a small laugh;

“God, i’d forgotten all about that! Yeah, that would be great”

They walked along comfortably, turning the corner and soon finding themselves in front of Bonnie’s building, their footsteps coming to a halt;

“So this is me...”

She wasn’t sure what to do; should she invite him in for a coffee? What if he got the wrong idea? Did she want him to get the wrong idea? For a moment they stood as she mulled over these thoughts in her mind, the pleasant buzz from the beers fogging her mind a little until Chase spoke;

“So... shall i pick you up about ten?”

“Yeah... yeah that would be great...”

The both paused for a moment, as if trying to see if there was an indication that the other would make the first move, but as a gust of wind blew around them it was as if the moment was lost;

“I’ll see you tomorrow then Bonnie...”

Chase pulled away, his face neutral until he seemingly forced a weak smile and turned, quickly waving over his shoulder before pulling the collar of his denim jacket up to stave off the cold.

“Great going there girl...” Bonnie muttered to herself, taking the first step up to her front door before she stopped, her keys jangling in her hand as a thought crossed her mind. She looked down the street and could see Chase as he made his way down the hill towards the harbour, soon he would be too far away to hear her so she called out;

“Chase!”

He stopped and turned, his features seemingly harsh under the pale light from the streetlamp, but softening as he watched her quickly run along the sidewalk until she was stood in front of him;

“I forgot something...”

“What...”

He didn’t get to finish his question as Bonnie had stoop up on her tiptoes and pressed her lips to his. For a moment his body stiffened before he wrapped his arms around her shoulders and pulled her closer. Finally they both felt the others lips curl into a smile, taking a step back as he slipped his hand into hers;

“Wow...”

“I kinda felt i should have done that about five minutes earlier...” Bonnie confessed as Chase walked her back to her door and she stood on the first step.

“Shall we try it again then? The whole walking to the door goodnight thing?”

She giggled and nodded;

“Goodnight Chase, thank you for a wonderful evening”

“No... thank _you_ ”

This time as their lips met their arms found their way around each other, the kiss deepening as their tongues moved tentatively at first, but soon their bodies were pressed together as Chase lifted her and spun her around in his arms carefully before setting her back down onto the step, his lips finally breaking free of hers;

“Its time for me to be a gentleman now...” He stepped back and grinned at her; “Good night”

He pressed one final kiss to her lips before he set off again, this time looking over his shoulder every few steps as she climbed up to her front door, both waving before she let herself in and closed the door behind her. She held her fingertips to her lips and smiled where she could still feel them tingling from Chase’s own lips;

“I really need to get him some Chapstick” she mused to herself as she got herself ready for bed, her last thoughts for the night ones of Chase and what the next day held for them.

 

 


	3. Chapter 3

The Scars of Magic – Chapter 3

The girls in the flower shop watched as he slowly walked around the room, inspecting their stock. Every so often he would reach out and tentatively touch the petals of a bloom, stroking the soft blossoms before deciding against that particular one and moving onto the next. They remained silent as he did this a few times, finally coming to a stop in front of the most expensive stems in the store;

“These... yes; these are perfect”

He stepped aside as they pulled the required number of stems from the water buckets, one girl taking them to the bouquet assembly table as the other stood behind the cash register, ringing up the charge;

“Would you like to choose a card sir?”

She watched as he looked the small card carousel that sat on the counter up and down for a moment before turning back to her;

“No, she’ll know who they’re from”

He handed over a wad of bills as he told the girls the address, not waiting for his change before he strode out of the store.

The two girls looked at each other as one deposited the cash and the other finished off the decoration on the bouquet;

“Well... he was a strange one...”

“Uh-huh”

They both watched as he climbed into his car and drove off down main street, waiting until he turned the corner before they moved;

“Hey, he paid over $10 more than he needed to” she handed the note to her colleague; “How about you stop off and grab us a couple of coffee’s on the way back from delivering this morning’s orders?”

~*~

Bonnie woke to bright fall sunshine streaming through the gap in her drapes; a smile curling across her lips when she could see just the tiniest glimpse of the small maple tree that stood in the sidewalk outside her building, its leaves a beautiful terracotta colour as the sap drained from them and the seasonal colours took hold.

Her smile spread further across her face when she recalled her date with Chase the previous night, how kind and caring he was, and that kiss at the end of the night that still made her lips tingle and her body buzz. Stretching her limbs she snuggled down into the soft pillows before she glanced at the clock, letting out a small groan when she saw it was approaching 9am already. As much as she wanted to stay in bed she also wanted to get ready for seeing Chase.

Half an hour later she was finally out of the shower having scrubbed, exfoliated, and shaved pretty much everything possible, drying her hair with a soft towel having used her favourite apple scented conditioner. As she was standing in front of her closet wondering what to wear she heard the door buzzer ring, glancing at her clock in a panic and throwing her fluffy robe on she pressed the button for the intercom;

“Hello?”

“Delivery for Miss Greaves...”

She looked at the little black and white monitor screen and could see that there was a woman from the Florist’s store on main street standing on her front step, a bouquet of flowers in her arms.  She took a deep breath and exhaled, relieved that it wasn’t Chase arriving early. She pressed the door release button and gave instructions to get to her apartment, moments later a quiet knock sounded and she greeted the delivery happily. Holding the large cellophane wrapped bundle in one hand she signed the delivery note, glancing into the scented blooms;

“Is there a card?”

The delivery woman shook her head;

“Sorry, no card. Instructions at the store would be that you would know who they were from?” she shrugged her shoulders in a nonchalant way; “Enjoy!”

Bonnie closed the door behind her before setting the flowers into the kitchen sink, wondering who they could be from for a moment before figuring they were from Chase, causing another smile to spread over her face. Glancing back to the clock she realised she barely had minutes before Chase was due, running back to the small closet in her bedroom to figure out what to wear.

Just as she was pulling on her sweater and smoothing her skirt down she heard the buzzer ring again, pressing the screen button she saw Chase on her doorstep nervously shifting from one foot to the other;

“Second floor, number 2B”

Moments later she could hear his booted feet on the wooden boards of the hallway, the quiet knock of his knuckles on the door. Trying to compose herself rather than fling the door open and leap into his arms she took a deep breath and pulled the door open, grinning when she saw him standing on the mat outside her door as he held up two takeout coffee cups, a paper bag hanging from his wrist that smelt of warm cinnamon;

“I brought breakfast”

She stepped aside to let him in, watching him as he took in the small apartment before setting his delivery down on the countertop of the small kitchen area. As he turned he was surprised to find Bonnie standing right behind him, smiling as she curled her arms around his shoulders and planted a kiss on his lips;

“Thank you for the flowers!”

As she grinned up at him he glanced to the sink where the bouquet still sat, a small frown on his face;

“Umm... they’re beautiful, but I didn’t... they’re not from me...”

Bonnie leant back, now confused herself;

“Oh... I just kind of presumed...”

There was an awkward moment as they both didn’t know what to say, until Chase finally spoke;

“Did they not come with a card?”

Bonnie shook her head;

“No, I asked the delivery girl and she said the instructions were that I would know who they were from”

Chase moved to the sink and gently touched one of the large lily blooms, its bright pink petals already opening a little further now that they were in the warmth of the apartment;

“I wouldn’t have picked lilies and roses... they’re too powerful” he turned back to her; “You would require more delicate blooms; Freesias, Iris’s...” he trailed off.

Bonnie couldn’t help but to smile at him, but the thought still nagged at her as to who sent the flowers;

“I wonder who they’re from then?” she mused

For a moment they both just stared at the bright pink blooms until they came back to their senses, Chase gesturing to the gifts he did bring;

“Breakfast?”

“Mmm good idea... Grab a seat, I’ll get some plates”

~*~

It was mid morning by the time they had finally finished up and made their way down to Chase’s old truck that was parked outside her building, Bonnie a little taken aback by his chivalry when he held the passenger door open for her to climb in before quickly running around to the driver’s side. The truck was showing its age, but was kept clean and in good working order, where repairs had been needed she could see that they had been done with the upmost care. As Chase slowly made his way along main street she found herself running her fingers over the stitching in a repair on the seat, the neat rows of thread equidistantly spaced;

“Did you do this?” she asked quietly as they waited for a Red light to change.

Chase glanced down to where she was pointing and nodded;

“Yeah, I like to fix things... it’s what I do...”

“Like, for a job?”

He nodded;

“I take handyman jobs when they come available, help out at the garage in town when they need an extra man... I’m good with my hands...”

At his last comment Bonnie grinned and raised an eyebrow at him, and for a moment he looked confused before the blush coloured his cheeks. They both burst out laughing, feeling comfortable in the other’s company. Finally the lights changed and Chase eased the truck onwards to the School, a comfortable silence in the truck as they watched the Fall colours pass by, the short trip through the woods showing just how beautiful the area was, yet when Bonnie turned to Chase she was confused to see a frown on his face;

“Everything ok?”

“I was just thinking... you walked along here last night?”

“Of course, it’s the most direct route. Why do you ask?”

“I never really thought about how isolated the school was before; I’m going to give you my number so if this ever happens again you call me for a ride, ok?”

He had a look of concern on his face as he waited for her response, which Bonnie was quite surprised but nodded in agreement. She hadn’t considered how remote the school was, it had still been twilight as she’d walked the roads the previous night, but now that he had pointed it out she realised it was more of a risk than she should have taken. The fact alone that she didn’t know the area or what dangers lay out there, should she have been hit by a car as it passed there was such low traffic numbers she wouldn’t have been spotted until it was too late.

As she was musing these thoughts Chase pulled into the driveway of the school, heading towards the parking lot at side of the building where the staff parked, finding a few vehicles still parked from the staff that lived onsite;

“Which one’s yours?”

“Over there” she pointed to the old pale blue VW compact that sat parked in the far corner.

Easing the truck into the space next to it Chase cut the engine and smiled at Bonnie;

“Ok, let’s take a look then shall we?”

Bonnie climbed out of his truck and fished her keys from her purse, going to hand them to Chase but he shook his head;

“You climb in and pop the hood, I’ll have a look to see if i can see the problem as you try to start her”

Bonnie watched from the driver’s seat as Chase shrugged off his denim jacket despite the chill in the air and started to roll up the sleeves to his top. The first thing she noticed were the burn scars that ran the length of one arm, some smaller ones that had the pale silvery look that the ones on his hands and face had, others still pink as if still healing. She wondered to herself what had happened to him to have caused such scars, her mind lost in its own little world as he disappeared behind the hood. She could see his arms where he had his hands in the workings of the engine, and when his voice interrupted her thoughts she sprang her attention back to what was happening in the now rather than the past;

“Ok, give it a go now”

She turned the key and the old car spluttered a little before the bursting into life, causing her to leap out of her seat and around to the front of the car;

“How did you do that?” she had a huge grin on her face as she stood next to him, relieved that he had been able to fix it.

“Oh I know a few tricks to get her going...”

Chase grinned at her as he quickly went to his truck and pulled a rag from the toolbox that sat in the back, wiping his hands as he returned to Bonnie’s car as it idled smoothly. She jumped on the spot excitedly before realising she was probably making a fool of herself, her suspicions confirmed when she glanced up and saw the look of amusement on his face;

“Sorry, just got a little excited there... thank you...” she placed her hand on his chest and stood on her tiptoes, pressing her lips to his for a chaste kiss; “I’m not sure how I could repay you for this!”

“I can think of a way...” he muttered quietly before his cheeks flushed crimson; “Sorry that was inappropriate...”

Bonnie leant against his chest and smiled;

“I don’t mind inappropriate”

For a moment their lips hovered close as if waiting for the magnetic pull of the others body to get them to meet. When neither moved they both laughed, letting out the tension that had held in the air. Finally Chase wrapped his arms around Bonnie’s waist, pulling her close as he ducked his head down and kissed her.

As their lips met Bonnie felt her heart pounding in her chest, her eyes closed as she let her senses absorb all of Chase; his scent of spicy aftershave and just a hint of engine oil, the softness of his longish hair as her fingers played with it at the nape of his neck, tender caresses of his lips and tongue as he kissed her deeply.

When they finally broke apart she smiled up at him, grinning like a giggly schoolgirl as she watched his gaze move down her body before his eyes went wide;

“I’ve gotten you all dirty”

She glanced down at the pale cream sweater she was wearing, noticing the smudges of engine oil he’d left behind, but she was not worried;

“I don’t mind dirty” She winked at him as she stepped out of his grasp; “I have something for you... I was thinking about you last night...”

She reached into the car, bending over to grab her purse before pulling out a small red cylinder;

“Here, this is for you”

Chase took it from her and raised an eyebrow;

“A Chapstick?”

“Uh-huh” she stood up on her tiptoes and pressed a kiss to his lips; “Your lips are chapped, and if you want to keep kissing me... which I hope you do... they might get sore?”

She looked at him coyly, smiling as he stuck it into his pocket;

“Duly noted”

“And how about dinner sometime? I’m not the world’s greatest cook, but I can make a mean lasagne”

“I’d like that”

“Oh hey; I need your number... you know, in case the car dies again, and to arrange dinner...”

He waited for her to get her phone, reciting the number as she programmed it in before he asked for hers to which she smiled;

“I’ll just message you now...”

She tapped a quick text into the phone and hit send, relieved to hear his phone beep from his pocket. He went to read it when she caught his wrist in her hand and winked;

“Read it later”

“Okay... I’d better go, I’ve got some jobs to do down in the harbour on the boats before the fleet needs to head out for night fishing”

“Sure... And thank you again”

“No problem, I’m happy to help a damsel in distress”

He bent down and kissed her one last time before he head back to his truck, Bonnie unable to stop herself from staring at his butt in his jeans, admiring how they clung to his behind beautifully and noticing for the first time his firm thighs. As he climbed into his truck and started the engine she watched as he pulled away, waving as he went before she blew him a kiss, smiling when she saw him blush again.

She watched his truck until it turned the corner of the building and was out of view before returning to her car, leaving the engine running she ran to the trunk and pulled out a few things having decided she would stop in town and do some shopping before returning to her apartment, looking for her umbrella now that the sky had started to cloud over. As she uncurled herself from the depths of the trunk a deep voice startled her;

“Hello Miss Greaves”

Bumping her head on the frame of the car she cursed as she looked around, surprised to see Professor Pope standing in front of her;

“Professor... what brings you to campus on a weekend?”

“Oh just an errand” he put his hands into his pockets and rocked back on his heels, a smug look on his face; “I could ask you the same thing...”

Bonnie gestured to her car;

“My car wouldn’t start last night, so I had to come back today to sort it out”

“Oh you should have said something... I would have been more than happy to give you a ride”

The way he licked his lips as he spoke gave Bonnie the chills, and the dark smirk on his face told her that he was edging towards being inappropriate. She glanced around and saw that the campus was deserted, the two of them seemingly the only people for a good few hundred feet.

“Umm... thank you Professor, but it’s fixed now... and I should really be going”

She edged around the side of her car and slid into the driver’s seat, pulling the door closed but letting out a little shriek as he suddenly placed his hands on the rim of the open window;

“Oh, and I just wanted to check the flowers arrived this morning in good order?”

Bonnie looked at him open mouthed for a few moments;

“They’re... They’re from you?”

He stood back and laughed quietly;

“Oh it’s a school thing... all assistants are rewarded at the end of their first week” he took a few steps back; “Anyway, I’ll let you go. See you bright and early Monday morning...”

Bonnie nervously backed her car out of the space, wanting to get away from him as quickly as possible, yet not wanting to seem like a complete idiot, there was just something about him that seemed wrong, how over familiar he was being and pushing the boundaries of a workplace relationship.

With him still troubling her mind Bonnie left the school campus, hoping that the rest of the weekend would help to calm her nerves and settle her mind.

~*~

Parking in Main Street, the first few drops of rain had started to fall as she climbed out of her car, Bonnie opened her umbrella and made her way along the sidewalk, stopping to look in a few windows before she decided to wait out the rain in a coffee shop. Finding herself outside Starbucks she let out a sigh of relief as she pulled the door open and stepped inside the warm store, breathing in the rich aroma’s of the roast coffee beans and baked treats that awaited her. After getting her order she glanced around, seeing the place was considerably busier than when she’d been there with Chase. Spotting an empty stool at the long counter she climbed up and settled with her drink, opening her phone as she scrolled through and checked her messages.

After a few moments she glanced up at the person sitting next to her, recognising the delivery girl from the florists that had been to her apartment that morning. The girl recognised her too and smiled;

“Did you enjoy your flowers Miss?”

Bonnie felt strange having someone her own age call her Miss;

“Please, call me Bonnie...”

“Did you figure out who they were from? He didn’t leave any details at the store so we were kind of hoping you would know...”

Bonnie shifted in her seat nervously;

“I did... yes... And it wasn’t who i had thought they would be from”

“Oh...”

Bonnie turned to the girl, noticing for the first time her name tag embroidered onto her unformed t-shirt; ‘Lea Ann’.

“Lea... is there a way i could request _not_ to have any more deliveries from him in the future?”

She paused for a moment, biting her lip nervously;

“I’m not sure, unless you file an official complaint with my manager... we’re kind of desperate for business this time of year... Unless it’s something you need to get the Sheriff involved in?”

Bonnie felt sorry for the girl, knowing how tough it can be for small town stores to make it through quieter Fall months;

“No, no. Its not that serious. Its just a colleague, umm, overstepping boundaries i guess....”

They sat in silence for a little longer before Lea Ann made a suggestion, that if he did return to the store, they took the business but she delivered the flowers to the Retirement home on the hill, to which they agreed that was a perfect solution to both of their problems. Soon they were chatting about the town, Bonnie explaining how she had just moved there for her job at the school, Lea Ann giving her the low down on the small town having lived there her whole life.

As their drinks were finished and the rain had stopped they both went to leave, Bonnie thanking Lea for her help;

“Hey Bonnie, if you were interested a few of us get together on a Sunday morning at the Salon down the street. There’s not much for anyone younger than about fifty years old here apart from Nicky’s... Each week we get together for a gossip over some coffee and get our nails done...”

“I’d like that” Bonnie smiled at her; “So i’ll see you tomorrow?”

They agreed a time and went their separate ways, Bonnie feeling a whole lot better about the weekend than she had after the incident at the school. Smiling to herself she continued along the sidewalk, cheerfully looking in the shops, oblivious to the man sitting in his car, watching her every move from a distance.

 

 


	4. Chapter 4

The Scars of Magic – Chapter 4

Bonnie looked up at the high windows in the library as Samuel moved around slowly, cataloguing the latest additions to the titles available for the students to check out for their schoolwork. The rain that had started on Saturday was still coming down mid week, the strong winds blowing it against the old glass panes making them rattle in their frames;

“Woo, sounds like a doozy of a storm coming through today” Samuel commented to himself.

Bonnie chewed her lip nervously; the road between town and the school had steadily got more and more waterlogged, the puddles never getting chance to seep away before the next rainstorm hit, and she was worried that her little car wouldn’t make it through on her way home if it didn’t stop raining. As another gust of wind rattled the glass she turned to old librarian;

“Will the windows hold? They look pretty ancient...”

He looked up first at her and then at the glass;

“Oh yes, they’ll be fine. Been like that for as long as i can remember... i’ve had maintenance check them out every year yet still they seem to hold in place... almost as if by magic...”

She climbed down the ladder and stood next to him, holding up an old book she’d been trying to find a home for on the shelves;

“Mr Whittle, where does this one go? Is it history or local studies?”

“Please, call me Samuel...” he took the old book from her and glanced over the cover; “Ah, the old Putnam barn...  It was one of the oldest buildings in Ipswich”

“Was? Is it not standing anymore?”

He shook his head;

“Burnt down about ten years ago” he rested the book onto history shelf; “That was the trigger incident for the Sons of Ipswich to start disbanding. One of them was involved with the incident; he called the authorities to alert them to the blaze and insisted that he’d seen someone in the barn before it had been razed to the ground, but they never did find a body. It was all chalked down to the over active imagination of teenagers” he turned and made his way towards the ever brewing coffeepot, pouring himself a cup and indicating to it as a silent offer to Bonnie;

“No, thank you” she picked up the next pile of books and looked over the titles, a quizzical look on her face; “Do we have a magic section?”

Samuel smiled and wandered over with his coffee cup, looking at the titles she was holding;

“It depends how you define magic”

“I’m sorry?”

“Well, if you are looking for magic tricks then you’ll need the crafts and skills section. There are a few titles on parlour tricks etcetera, but if you are talking about sorcery then that is in-ground into the history of the town thanks to the forefathers that founded it”

He took the books from Bonnie and rested them onto the shelf with the previous title. For a moment he paused before pulling a old leather bound book from the high shelf and passing it to her, watching as she read over the title that was embossed into the cover;

“The Wiccan History of Ipswich?”

“I think it will be very informative for you, there’s a lot in there about the town and also the witch trials that led to the settlers arriving its being founded”

As she turned the book over in her hands a quiet knock sounded at the door causing both of them to look up, smiling when they saw the Provost’s secretary;

“Miss Greaves, the Provost would like to see you if you have a moment?”

Glancing at Samuel he nodded, letting her know that she could take a break from her duties. Handing him the book she hurried after the woman, walking quickly and in silence through the hallways until she was stood outside his office. Knocking quietly she heard his voice;

“Enter”

“Sir? You wanted to see me?” she said as she poked her head around his door

“Yes, please” he smiled at her; “Come in and take a seat, it’s nothing to worry about”

Bonnie sat nervously in the large leather chair facing him, clutching her hands together in her lap. For every time a boss had told her she’d ‘nothing to worry about’ it usually was something to worry about. She watched as the elder gentleman opened a file on his desk and pressed his fingertips together as he rested his elbows on his desk before he finally spoke;

“How are you settling in?”

“Fine... thank you”

“And are Mr Whittle and Professor Pope helping you to learn the ropes?”

“Mr Whittle is fantastic, he knows so much about the history and the inner workings of the school, and of Ipswich for that matter”

It didn’t go past the Provost that she hadn’t mentioned her other boss;

“And the Professor?”

Bonnie paused, not sure how to word her response before finally speaking;

“He’s very... intense”

He laughed quietly;

“I can see why you say that, he’s a very passionate young man. We were very pleased that he transferred here from Norfolk Academy. All of his classes are fully subscribed, even oversubscribed at times. Did he manage to arrange your first week gift?”

Bonnie realised he was talking about the flowers she’d been sent, and actually felt relieved that it was an official instruction rather than something Professor Pope had taken upon himself to do;

“Yes, he arranged for some flowers to be sent to my apartment”

The Provost paused;

“Your apartment?”

Bonnie suddenly felt a shudder run down her spine, as if she had flagged something up to him that he hadn’t approved;

“Yes, should they not have gone there... i thought it was slightly overstepping the boundaries of a workplace relationship...”

The Provost’s eyes suddenly went wide;

“Oh! No, that’s not what i was referring to... I’m sorry if there was some confusion. I presumed you lived onsite like most of the other new members of staff. Professor Pope came to me last week and suggested the gift be delivered to your lodgings, so i approved my secretary to give him the details... i wasn’t aware you lived offsite”

Before she could answer an incredible gust of wind blew at the windows of the office, blowing open one of them. Immediately the Provost ran to close it, struggling to pull it shut until Bonnie was on her feet and helping him, the two of them bringing the latch closed so that the room was secure again;

“This storm is really setting in” he said more to himself than Bonnie, before pressing the intercom button for his secretary and summoning her into the room;

“Could you please make the announcement that classes will be cancelled for the afternoon and all students are to return to their dorms?”

The secretary nodded in understanding as he continued;

“And please make arrangements for any staff residing offsite to either return home or be provided with overnight accommodation onsite”

He turned to Bonnie and smiled;

“Miss Greaves, i guess that gives you a head start over everyone. You have the details for the schools alert line?”

She nodded;

“Yes Sir”

“We’ll see how the storm blows through today and tonight. If things have settled down in the morning we’ll send out a text alert to advise if the school will still be on lockdown or if classes are running again” he lifted a few papers from the floor that had blown off when the window had crashed open; “Oh and i had almost forgotten, the extracurricular activity schedule will start next week; you’ve been invited by the music department to get acquainted with the grand piano in the ballroom starting from tomorrow morning”

Bonnie stood looking at him in a state of shock. She’d only started to get settled into her two main roles at Spenser so hadn’t thought that the Piano tutoring would happen quite so quickly, but more than anything she was incredibly excited about the chance to practice on a grand; she’d always used uprights in the past;

“Thank you Sir! I look forward to it”

He smiled at her kindly as he ushered her out of his office, wishing her a safe journey home as he started to run through the protocols with his secretary for the afternoon.

After she’d explained the situation and collected her things from Samuel’s office where he’d insisted that she take home the old book he’d suggested, she found herself standing at the front entrance to the school peering out of the windows. As she looked at the small image of her car in the waterlogged parking lot a bedraggled figure pushed in through the door, standing dripping on the mat as it closed behind him. She recognised him as the groundskeeper having said hi to him a few times when she’d been passing between buildings;

“Afternoon Miss... bit wet out there”

She smiled at his understatement;

“You could say that”

“You’re not thinking of taking that little roller-skate of yours down the road to town are you? The road is half flooded; you’ll need a truck to get through as it’s about a foot deep in places”

She looked at her little car and an idea came to mind, thanking him for letting her know and assuring him that she could make alternative arrangements. Fishing her phone from her bag she scrolled through the numbers and hit the call button, waiting nervously as it rang before she finally heard his familiar voice;

“Bonnie... everything ok?”

“Hi Chase”

“Are you alright?” he sounded worried

“Yes yes, i’m fine. I was wondering on the off chance if you could give me a ride into town from the school? Some of the road is flooded and i’ve been told my VW won’t make it through it....”

There was a pause on the line before she heard his soft voice and a low chuckle;

“Of course. I’ll be there in fifteen”

~*~

Bonnie watched out of the rain splattered window for any sign of Chase’s truck, the wind blowing leaves and even small branches across the open grounds in front of the school. After checking her watch for what felt like the hundredth time she could finally make out its familiar shape as he pulled up to the front steps. Grabbing her things she made a dash down the steps, relieved to see that he had reached over to the passenger side and opened the door for her, allowing her to slide in quickly.

"You look a little wet and flustered" he grinned at her as he pressed a quick kiss to her cold cheek

"That's because i was waiting for you"

She matched his smile and as his eyes went wide in surprise at her comment she slapped her hands over her mouth and scrunched her eyes closed in embarrassment;

"Oh my god! I can't believe i just said that"

Chase was too busy laughing to say anything, instead he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close, pressing a kiss to her forehead before she looked up at him, his smile telling her that he had enjoyed her quip;

"I'm flattered Bonnie... it’s been a long time since anyone has even wanted to joke with me about that"

He kissed her again, their lips meeting and that welcome spark of desire pulling their bodies closer together. Bonnie parted her lips and tentatively traced her tongue along his, feeling him smile into their kiss. Just as things were about to get more heated a strong gust of wind rocked the truck, Chase pulling back from her and frowning out of the windshield;

"We'd better make a move; the road was almost flooded when i came through"

Reluctantly parting they settled into their seats, Bonnie fastening her seatbelt as Chase eased the truck along the driveway before they ventured out onto the wooded road to town. Their drive was tense, the puddles had turned into floods, the surrounded woods looking as if trees had sprouted out of a lake, and giving an eerie sense of isolation to the road. Although he was keeping the speed well under 30mph the truck aquaplaned a couple of times causing Bonnie to clutch onto her seat, her knuckles turning white. As they approached the hairpin bend before the road straightened out for the final descent into town something caught Bonnie's attention out of the corner of her eye. As she turned to look she screamed;

"CHASE! THE TREE!"

A large Cedar was starting to fall, the ancient tree slowly coming down as they hurtled towards it. The road was covered in water; there would be no way of stopping before they crashed into the heavy trunk. Bonnie wanted to close her eyes, yet somehow she was unable to draw her vision away from their impending fate. In the seconds that passed as they got closer she glanced at Chase, letting out a small gasp as she saw his eyes, so dark it was as if they were black, yet suddenly there seemed to be a ring of fire around his iris's. As she stared at him she heard the scraping of the tips of the branches scratching along the roof of the truck, the tyres sliding on the slick asphalt as they drifted sideways underneath the tree. It seemed as if something was holding it in mid air, and as the truck span out once it had passed under it she watched the tree come crashing down in front of them, the truck now sitting 180 degrees from the direction in which they had previously been travelling in.

"The tree..." she finally said; "It just stopped mid air..."

Chase was immediately wrapping his arms around her;

"Are you ok?" he was running his hands over her arms and neck; "You're not hurt?"

She shook her head;

"No... no, i'm fine. But the tree... it just stopped mid air..."

Chase looked out through the rain splattered windshield and frowned, as if lost in his thoughts for a moment;

"It could... it could have been caught by its roots... before they snapped?"

For a moment they just stared out of the window before Chase finally released her from the embrace he was holding her in;

"We should get moving before any more come down"

Bonnie nodded in agreement, still a little shaken up as they started towards town, Chase driving around the flooded areas as the woods edged away into the distance and the buildings of town started to become more common. A couple of times she glanced back at him, his eyes now the soft pale blue as always, mentally chalking down what she saw as a trick of the light. As they crawled along main street they saw the businesses closing early, boarding their windows for the impending storm. As she watched the small pizza parlour owner struggling with a large board to cover his windows an idea came to mind;

"Chase... can i cook you dinner tonight?"

He turned to look at her, a surprised smile on his face;

"I'd love that" he looked out through the window and paused; "Do you mind if we swing by my place? I just need to check everything is closed up... i'm down on the waterfront..."

"Sure"

A few minutes later they were travelling along the narrow coast road, the clapperboard houses that sat on the water’s edge a beautiful array of warm colours. Pulling up to a three storey red one she looked up at it;

"This is all yours?"

"I have a roommate but i don't see him. Our schedules never mesh together" he opened the door; "I'll be two minutes"

Bonnie watched as he ran into the building, his head ducked to the wind as he unlocked his place and disappeared inside. After a few moments of looking up at the building her attention waned and she started to rummage in her bag, finding the book that Samuel had given her. Absentmindedly she started to flick through the pages, glancing at the title of each chapter until she came upon 'Witchcraft';

'The four families of Ipswich's founding fathers have all been advocates for the practice of the craft, with stories told of telekinesis; the ability to move objects with their mind'

The sentence ran over in Bonnie’s head as her thoughts returned to the tree that almost crushed the truck earlier. Stowing the book back into her bag she was still running this thought over in her mind and hadn't noticed Chase returning to the truck until he opened the door, startling her a little;

"You looked as if you were in your own world there..."

He grinned as he climbed back in, his hair messy where the wind and rain had battered him on the short distance from his porch. He pulled the truck out of his drive and made the short journey up the hill to Bonnie’s apartment, dodging trash cans that were being blown across the street, small branches from the trees that lined her street flying across in front of them as he parked up. As he opened his door the wind almost wrenched it from his hand, holding it tight as he turned to her;

"I'll come around and help you out"

Struggling in the strong winds he rounded the truck and held Bonnie's door open, his arms tense on the cold metal as she climbed out, his hand gripping hers as they ducked their heads to the wind and rain as they ran up her steps and into her building.

Entering her apartment she watched as Chase looked around the small open plan living area, although he'd been there before this time he was taking it all in. Shrugging off his soaked denim jacket he looked at her as he held it in his hands;

"Can i hang this somewhere to dry?"

"I'll grab a hangar from my closet for it, we can hang it on the radiator"

He followed her to her bedroom door, standing in the doorway as she grabbed what she needed, kicking her shoes off into her closet as she walked back to him, taking his jacket from him, seeing how he was staring at her bed before he noticed where his gaze was trained;

"Sorry"

She smiled as she hung the jacket and smiled at him, ducking past him towards the kitchen before glancing over her shoulder;

"How about lasagne?"

Letting out a deep sigh he smiled at Bonnie;

"Sounds good"

Over the next hour he sat at the counter as she moved around the kitchen, talking about their day  filling each other in on their lives, yet it seemed that Bonnie was doing most of the talking;

"...what about you Chase?"

"I'm sorry?"

Bonnie laughed kindly;

"I could tell you had zoned out a bit there..."

He blushed and she couldn't help but to admire how the silver scars on the side of his face made a stark contrast to the red of his cheeks;

"Tell me a bit about yourself..."

"What did you want to know?"

"Anything... how about your family? Are you from Ipswich? Did you grow up here?"

He took a deep breath;

"I was adopted when i was two... but i never really got on with my adoptive parents; our interests were too dissimilar. They passed away on my eighteenth birthday..."

As she listened to his story Bonnie could feel a lump growing in her throat, regretting asking him. But he continued, it almost seemed cathartic for him to talk to someone about it;

"After that i tracked my biological father down, but i barely got there in time. He passed me my inheritance before he went too. His lawyer arranged for me to attend Spenser Academy, but within the first semester i ended up in an accident that caused this..." he motioned to his scars but continued his story;

"I missed the rest of the year of school, i turned on myself, but blamed everyone possible for my own mistakes. I spent a few years moving around, not knowing where i wanted to be, nothing tethering me to a particular spot, until one day i saw a bus with Ipswich as its destination. I already carried with me what little i still owned and boarded the bus" he smiled at her as he finally looked up; "That was about six months ago"

As Bonnie processed what he'd told her she thought over how to reply, but as she went to speak there was a knock at the door. Not expecting anyone and the fact that the intercom hadn't buzzed told her that it was someone from within the building, and upon opening the door she was greeted by the buildings supervisor.

"Hi Miss Greaves, the storm is about to hit..." she glanced into the apartment and smiled at Chase briefly as she continued; "I guess you don't have the emergency radio broadcasts on. Everyone has been told to take shelter, its a force 4 about to hit" She handed Bonnie a small box; "Its likely the power will go out soon; here's some candles and matches. The furnace in the basement should still work, and the phone lines should still keep up, but it will move to the analogue system so you won't be able to get internet"

Bonnie took the box and thanked her, the supervisor telling her that if she needed anything or had any problems then she could come up to 4C and knock at any time of the day. Once she was gone Bonnie turned to Chase and smiled;

"Looks like you're stuck here"

He grinned at her as he took the box, settling the candles onto the counter and tables in preparation;

"I'm sure that's a horrible inconvenience for you"

"Oh yeah... completely horrible"

Soon the rich aroma's of their dinner were filling the apartment as the lights flickered overhead. Stacking the used coffee cups in the dishwasher Bonnie turned to Chase;

"Would you like a glass of wine?"

For a moment she could see him processing the thoughts and connotations of it before he finally nodded, smiling as he watched her get two glasses. As she struggled with the bottle open and cork he took the bottle from her, his strength helping to open the bottle. As she filled the glasses the timer went to signal that dinner was ready. Between them they set the places at the counter, Chase watching as she served their meal. As she turned with the two plates in her hands the lights flickered before finally going out;

"Well, i guess that's it for the power for the night then..."

"Let me get the candles lit"

Chase quickly moved around the room as Bonnie stood in the darkness, and when the golden flames illuminated the room she smiled at him as they settled to eat;

"Very romantic"

Holding up his glass to hers she clinked the glasses together;

"Cheers... here's to new beginnings..."

They continued to talk as they ate, sharing memories and opinions, thoughts and jokes. Soon the bottle of wine was empty as were their plates. Chase went to say something but was stopped as a flash of lightning illuminated the room. He let out a small noise;

"Chase? Are you ok?"

Another flash of lightning streaked across the sky and in the faint light from the candles she could see the stricken look of panic on his face. Getting down from her stool she stood next to him, gently resting her hand on his arm;

"Chase?"

Her touch seemed to snap him out of his trance, but she could see that his eyes were watery as if holding back tears as he stammered out his words;

"The night of my accident..."

She immediately realised what he was talking about, when he'd been scarred it had been a stormy night. Wrapping her arms around his shoulders she pulled him close to her chest, pressing a kiss to the top of his head as he shook in her arms. As another flash of light lit the room and he shook in her arms she came across an idea, taking his hand and pulling him from the stool. On shaky legs he followed her to her small bedroom, letting her push him to sitting on the bed as she quickly pulled the drapes across, watching intensely as she returned to him;

"Can you wait here whilst i blow the candles out?"

He nodded and she pressed a kiss to his forehead before running out of the room, returning a few seconds later holding just one candle, setting it down on the cabinet at the side of the bed. Tapping his leg gently she smiled;

"Jeans and Boots off, and get under the covers"

Heading into her closet she quickly changed into yoga pants and a tanktop, returning to the room just in time to see Chase pulling the covers up to his chin. Quickly climbing in next to him Bonnie pulled him into her arms, not surprised to find him shaking.

They lay like that for an age, each time a clap of thunder was heard she could feel him tense, sometimes a small whimper escape his lips. Finally the eye of the storm passed and all that remained was the sound of the gales battering the building, the rain still hitting the window. Bonnie could feel Chase's heartbeat slow to a steady rate, his breathing no longer laboured. Looking down she could see his eyes closed, his long lashes laying against his cheeks as he slept, finally a peaceful look on his face. The candle at the side of the bed spluttered out and the room was sent into darkness, sleep soon taking Bonnie too.

~*~

The next morning Bonnie woke with a stiff neck, still propped up in an awkward position on the pillows where she'd fallen asleep. As she opened her eyes she glanced down at the mop of dark hair that lay against her chest, watching Chase as he slept peacefully. As much as she didn't want to move or leave his embrace her bladder was telling her that it needed to be emptied. Admitting defeat to her bodily functions she eased herself out of his arms and quietly moved to the bathroom.

As she returned to the bedroom she grabbed her phone from the kitchen, checking for any messages from the school as she saw the little light flashing on it, opening her inbox;

'School hours will start at 10am. Maintenance crews are working on clearing the road and drive between town and school. Any offsite staff unable to attend, please contact the admissions office through the local number'

Glancing up she looked into the bedroom and saw Chase smiling at her from beneath the covers. Setting her phone down she ran across the cold floor and climbed in next to him, pressing a kiss to his lips;

"Are you ok?"

He nodded, a kind smile on his face;

"Yes, thank you. I haven't slept that well for a long time... but you probably think i'm an idiot for being scared of a storm..."

"Absolutely not. I was pretty scared myself..."

She wrapped her hand around the back of his neck, pulling him closer. As their lips met she felt his broad chest pressed against hers, his hand grazing up her side as his fingers danced over the bare skin of her torso where her top had ridden up.

Their kisses became more fervent, their hands travelling over heated skin. As his lips pressed small kisses along her jaw line and down her neck she could feel his hardness pressing against her hip, the thin fabric of her pants and his boxers doing nothing to hide his arousal. As his hand moved and cupped her breast through her top she moved, his leg slipping between her thighs to rub against her core and she found her hips moving against his, her fingers winding through his hair as his lips moved lower down her chest;

"Chase..."

"Hmmm-mmm?"

"We'll have to be quick... the school is opening at 10am..."

He looked up at her, his pupils blown wide with desire as his chest heaved short breaths;

"Ok... but i don't want our first time to be quick... i want to take my time..." he looked down; "It's been a while since... you know... and i want it to be special..."

Bonnie felt a pang of disappointment, her own arousal frustrating her, but she also knew deep down that she too wanted their first time to be something special. Letting out a deep breath she relaxed into the mattress, admitting defeat;

"Okay... why don't you _calm down_ whilst i shower...?"

He let out a sigh and smiled, rolling off her as she pulled the covers back. She couldn't help but to glance down quickly, a shudder running straight to her core when she saw the impressive bulge that was distorting the fabric of his boxers. Dragging her eyes away she got to her feet, standing at the doorway she turned and grinned;

"Chase?"

"Yeah?"

She quickly lifted her top and flashed him her breasts before running to the bathroom giggling, hearing his voice as she closed the door;

"That's not going to help me to calm down you know"

~*~

After showering and dressing she was pleased to see Chase had dressed and had got the coffee machine working, the rich liquid dripping steadily into the pot as he fixed some toast;

"I hope you don't mind?" he motioned to the stack of toast that was piled on two plates, taking a slice as he bit down onto it.

Standing on her tiptoes Bonnie kissed his cheek;

"Not at all"

Working around each other they cleared away the remains of the abandoned meal from the previous night, breakfast soon finished and tidied away.

Their drive through town and onto the school was what they had expected; passing people starting to clear up after the storm, and as they ventured into the woodlands they passed the maintenance crews that were working with chainsaws to clear the trees that had obstructed the road. Chase pulled the truck to a halt outside the main doors to the school, letting the truck idle as he turned to Bonnie;

“Thank you for last night... for everything” He reached and tucked her hair behind her ear before pressing a kiss to her lips; “Can i take you to dinner?”

Bonnie looked up and smiled;

“I’d like that”

“What works for you? Friday? Saturday?”

She paused for a moment, mentally running through her mind what commitments she already had;

“I have a staff meeting quite late Friday, but Saturday would be great”

Chase grinned from ear to ear, and seeing him so happy after the previous evening when she’d seen him in such a fragile state warmed Bonnie’s heart. He kissed her again before she had to wriggle from his grasp or she’d be late for her first class;

“What time?”

“Pick you up at Six? I’ll try and get a reservation at Call Of The Sea; its a fantastic seafood restaurant on the waterfront”

“Sounds good” She leant forwards and kissed him again, hungry for his embrace yet knowing she was going to be late if she didn’t get a move on; “I’ve got to go!”

Pulling away she jumped out of the truck, waving from the steps as he pulled away. Sprinting through the hallways she stowed her things in the little locker she’d been allocated in the library office before making her way to the ballroom where the grand piano was kept.

Stepping through the large doors into the cavernous room, she let her eyes adjust to the dim light before she spotted the piano in the corner. For a moment she just stared at it, not sure what to do until a voice behind her made her jump;

“Miss Greaves, so good to meet you”

The young man from the music department smiled at her;

“I’m Thomas Phillips”

He stuck out his hand and she shook it, listening as he explained about the instrument and how she’d already had a few bookings for private lessons so would need to become familiar with the instrument fairly quickly. They walked across the large room and she waited as Thomas pulled the cords that opened the long blinds that covered the windows, immediately filling the room with a bright light that made the decor come alive. He stepped over to the piano and opened the lid over the keys;

“We had it retuned during the summer break so it should be fine”

He tapped a few keys and the melodious notes filled the room;

“Just as i thought, perfect”

Bonnie nodded her thanks and watched him leave before settling onto the stool that sat in front of the piano, getting comfortable as she rested her fingers on the ivory keys. Taking a deep breath she started to play, getting a feel for the sound of the strings as she increased and decreased the pressure her fingers applied, working the sustain, sostenuto and soft pedals where necessary. As she came to the end of one of the particularly hard pieces of a Mozart sonata she knew off by heart a single pair of hands applauded her, making her turn quickly on the stool. When she saw who her audience was she frowned;

“Professor Pope”

He strode over to her slowly, standing next to the piano as he smiled at her;

“I heard the music down the hallway, you’ve got a great talent”

She was a little taken aback by his compliment, unable to draw her gaze away from him as he leant against the instrument.

“Thank you. But then i would hope that’s why i’ve been employed to do the private lessons”

“The students of Spenser will be in great hands” he turned to the piano and gestured to the lid; “Though i would have thought the notes would have a brighter tone if this was opened”

Bonnie looked at the top board of the piano for a moment;

“If i could open it i would, but i am neither tall enough nor strong enough to do it. I’ll get Thomas to do it before the first lesson”

“There’s no need for that, let me”

Bonnie watched as he pulled the lid up, stretching his arms above his head as he pulled it so that the pin slotted into place and held it open. She couldn’t help but to notice his jacket had fallen away from his body to expose his slim waist, his dark shirt tucked in neatly to his dress pants. Shaking her head to remove the thoughts from her mind she turned her attention back to the smug expression on his face, and how he was already managing to annoy her;

“Thank you for that, but when did you become an expert on piano’s?”

He didn’t answer, instead he stood next to her and moved his arms in a gesture that asked her to move up the stool. Settling down next to her she became aware of the heat coming from his body, and as he raised his hands over the keys he smiled at her, a sinister grin that was too much teeth and not enough sincerity just as his fingers hit the ivory.

She watched as his hands drifted along the keys, the dark sounds of the piece he was playing filled the room and she found herself entranced by the fluidity of his movements. When he finally stopped she sat there in shock;

“That was amazing Professor Pope”

He turned on the seat, a dark smirk on his face;

“Please, call me Sebastian”

 

 

 

 

 


	5. Chapter 5

Scars of Magic – Chapter 5

The morning after the storm Bonnie was starting to feel at home, both in Ipswich and at Spenser Academy. Even when she attended Professor Pope’s lessons she was beginning to feel a little less on edge than she had been; becoming a more comfortable in his presence. There was a spring to her step as she eagerly anticipated dinner with Chase on Saturday night.

She had even gone as far as to book an appointment at the salon in town, running into Lea Ann doing deliveries in Main Street as she stopped off on her way home after classes.

“Hey Bonnie!”

“Hi Lea Ann” She glanced down at the potted plant that her new friend was carrying, its pale pink flowers and small teddies decorating the pot telling her someone was getting a baby shower gift; “Who’s the lucky mom?”

“Rachel, she is one of the assistants at the salon”

“Oh I’m heading there now, mind if I walk with you?”

“Not at all” they fell into step together; “Hey, are you coming on Sunday morning?”

Lea Ann was referring to the get together Bonnie had attended the previous weekend, where a group of five or six local girls all around their age had coffee and did a fair amount of talking that was more gossip than discussion. Bonnie couldn’t help but to grin;

“Maybe not... that’s why I’m booking an appointment; I’ve got a date Saturday night”

“Ah I see... and you might not have finished it come Sunday morning?”

Bonnie laughed;

“That’s what I’m hoping for!”

The small bell over the door of the Salon tinkled as they entered, Bonnie soon having booked an appointment to have her hair and nails done Saturday lunchtime, promising to let them know how it went.

~*~

When Friday finally arrived Bonnie’s mind was full of thoughts for Saturday night, and as she walked to the staff meeting after classes had finished she was a little distracted, only noticing the person who had fallen into step next to her when he cleared his throat;

“Evening Bonnie”

Glancing up she realised it was Professor Pope;

“Sebastian! Sorry, I was in my own little world”

“So I see”

He held the door to the ballroom open for her, watching as she stepped past and into the large room, chairs having been set out for the staff. Taking their seats quickly they had only just settled when the Provost walked in, the idle chatter in the room quietening down immediately.

The meeting was the usual updates and announcements, reports about the clear up after the storm and any news for future events; the next one being the first formal dance of the year in a week’s time;

“We do expect as many staff to attend as possible” the Provost explained; “It is a celebration to welcome everyone together, and I do need to stress that it is a more formal affair. The staff are asked to lead by example, and we start the evening with an official dance”

Murmurs of pairings rumbled around the room as the newer members of staff discussed this with the longer standing ones before the Provost cleared his throat;

“To save anyone any embarrassment over picking a partner, you are paired by your departments”

Bonnie’s immediate glance went to Samuel, who in turn smiled back at her from along the row, giving her the thumbs up when she saw he was sat next to the middle aged administration assistant that worked with him when you were attending classes with Professor Pope. This in turn turned your attention to the man sat next to you, a grin on his face;

“Looks like you’re stuck with me”

As the Provost called for quiet again Bonnie’s thoughts were elsewhere, jumping between her prospective date the following evening, and the now impending dance she would be doing with Professor Pope. She started to watch him out of the corner of her eye, her brow furrowing as she realised he reminded her of someone... yet couldn’t quite place it. Finally she turned her attention back to the room, catching the final part of what the Provost was saying;

“...and there will be a practice dance class tomorrow evening should any staff members want to have a refresher on their footwork skills.”

He called the end of the meeting and the staff started to get up, milling around as some slowly made to leave the room whilst clearing the chairs away;

“So Bonnie, up for a little practice tomorrow night?”

Professor Pope’s question had her stumped for a moment, finally finding her words;

“I’m sorry... I have plans tomorrow”

“Oh I’m sure it’s something you could reschedule”

She turned to him and smiled, yet her expression told him that it wasn’t a welcome suggestion;

“No chance, this is something I’m actually looking forward to”

They filed out of the room and started along the long hallway towards the exit, her soon to be dance partner hot on her heels. As he fell into step beside her he couldn’t help but to chuckle;

“It would seem everyone but me already has plans this weekend”

She held her silence, and as they reached the door he held it open for her, making her squeeze past him;

“Have a good night Bonnie”

“Thank you Sebastian”

Without waiting for a reply Bonnie was down the front steps and walking quickly to her car, not looking back to her colleague that still stood on the steps, watching her as she went.

~*~

When Saturday morning arrived Bonnie woke with a start, having had strange dreams of being torn between two decisions, yet when she tried to remember what the specific details were she was unable to get her subconscious to cooperate. Finally deciding the day that led ahead of her was of more interest that the dream world she pulled herself out of bed, a spring in her step as she started to set her plans for the day into action.

After grabbing lunch from a coffee shop on main street Bonnie made her way to the salon, talking with the girl on the front desk as she waited for her appointment slot;

“So, who’s your date with?” Rachel leant forwards, resting her hands on the desk as her baby bump sat on the countertop. She’d been one of the girls that came to the salon on a Sunday morning; “Come on, let me live vicariously through you...” she patted the humungous bump; “Its not like I can have any excitement with this little Miss still staying put”

Bonnie laughed, knowing that Rachel had been complaining about being at her due date already;

“His name is Chase”

“Chase Collins?”

“You know him?”

“He’s done a bit of maintenance for my husband on the boat. Seems like a nice guy, really quiet. His roommate seems a strange one though, all brooding and moody”

“Ah, well thankfully my plans don’t involve whoever the roommate is”

By then the stylist was ready for Bonnie, calling her over to the chair where she could get started on taming her rather wild locks.

An hour and half later Bonnie left the salon feeling primped and preened; her hair in smooth waves and her nails a tasteful dark red. She’d chosen the colour as it matched some of her outfit for the evening; not her dress, but rather what she was planning on wearing underneath.

After doing her makeup and finally pulling on her outfit she checked her reflection in the mirror before nervously starting to pace her apartment, cursing herself for getting ready so early. She absentmindedly opened the refrigerator door, her attention drawn to the bottle of vodka she kept there, wondering if some Dutch courage would help calm her nerves. As she was mulling this thought over in her mind the sound of the intercom buzzing made her jump, closing the door and pressing the button, smiling when she saw Chase standing on the doorstep;

“Come in!”

In the seconds that passed as she waited for the quiet knock on her door she paced the kitchen, her heels clicking on the tiles before she finally heard it, practically pouncing for the door as she swung it open, her breath being taken away when she saw him;

“Wow...”

Standing on her doorstep Chase had practically transformed himself; a crisp white shirt was tucked neatly into a pair of snug dress pants that clung to his slim waist and hips. The top couple buttons of his shirt were open, showing a smattering of dark chest hairs. His black leather jacket hung open where he was holding one hand behind his back;

“I could say the same about you Bonnie”

He pulled his hand around and revealed he was holding a single red rose, offering it to her. Taking it gently from him she raised it to her nose, inhaling the scent before she went to place it into a vase, Chase following her into her apartment and pushing the door closed. Turning back to her he was surprised to find she’d crossed the room and was standing directly in front of him, her hands immediately wrapping around the back of his neck as she pulled him down to meet her lips, their kiss desperate and needy. His hands found their way to her waist before she pressed her body flush with his and he reached down and grasped her buttocks, squeezing them firmly as his fingers dug into her softness. Her groan of desire finally made him break apart the embrace, leaving them both gasping for air. Chase rested his forehead against Bonnie’s;

“We should make a move”

“Yeah...”

Neither made any effort to remove themselves from their embrace, their lips hovering just a hairs breadth apart;

“I... I should get my coat...” Bonnie finally said as she lowered her arms, resting them on his chest.

Chase watched as she made her way into her bedroom, unable to draw his eyes off of her behind as her hips swayed. He let out a shaky breath and shoved his hands into his pockets, attempting to relieve the pressure where the fabric had tightened because of their kiss. Whilst he waited he glanced at the countertop, noticing the old book that lay there. He went to open it but heard her footsteps as she returned, buttoning her coat as she smiled at him, grabbing her purse and keys as they made their way out of the apartment, making sure she had locked up before heading down to his truck.

Their ride down to the harbour was short, they could have walked but Bonnie was still thankful for it, she hadn’t been looking forward to descending the steep hill down the street in her heels. Parking in the small lot out front, the moment she opened the door she could smell the delicious aroma’s from the restaurant, her stomach growling as she salivated at the thought of food. Chase slid his hand into hers as they crossed the street, noticing when Bonnie was pausing to look up the coastline;

“Everything ok?”

“Is that your place?”

Looking to where she was pointing he smiled;

“Yeah”

“You drove all the way into town to pick me up and you’re literally a two minute walk from here?”

He didn’t answer; his only response was a broad smile as he tugged gently on her arm.

Once they were seated in the restaurant and had ordered their drinks they fell into easy conversation, sitting close together in the intimate booth. As Bonnie told Chase about her week at school, about the piano lessons and the impending school formal he watched her face intently as she spoke. Finally there was a break in the conversation and he spoke up;

“Bonnie, I saw the book you were reading at your apartment”

“The history of Ipswich? The librarian at school gave it to me. He told me it would help to learn the history of the town in order to understand some of the traditions the school has” she paused and sipped her drink; “I’m just getting to the parts about magic”

Chase played with his glass, running his finger around the rim;

“Do you believe in magic?”

Bonnie paused, searching his face for a tell or something to see if it was a trick question before she finally settled on her answer;

“I think I do.... I’m certainly open to learning more about it... it fascinates me”

“What if I told you I could do magic?”

She paused, looking at him in disbelief, watching as he set his glass on the table and started to move his finger around in a circle above the straw. She let out a little gasp as the straw started to move around the glass in the same motion as his finger;

“No way! It’s a trick or something” she watched the straw continue to move; “It’s like the breeze from your finger or something”

“I can assure you it’s not” he grinned at her; “Watch this”

He nodded to the tray of drinks that sat on the bar ready for the wait staff to take them. He started to twirl his finger again and as if on cue all the straws and stirrers started to move around in their glasses;

“Still think it’s just the breeze from my finger?”

He had a cocky look on his face, his smirk making Bonnie want to see more. They were however interrupted by their waiter arriving with their food, sitting in silence as he placed their orders on the table before they both thanked him. Once he was gone Bonnie lowered her voice and leant towards Chase;

“So this finger thing... you ever used it on a girl?”

She winked at him before lifting her cutlery, this time the smirk on her face. She started to cut her food, going to take a bite of it as Chase happened upon an idea.

“OH MY GOD!”

Bonnie’s knife and fork crashed loudly onto the plate, the restaurant going quiet as the waiter rushed over;

“Miss? Is everything ok?”

Bonnie tried to compose herself, glaring at Chase as she fidgeted in her seat;

“Yes, it’s absolutely perfect. I’m sorry for startling you, this fish is _so_ good”

Fidgeting again she smiled at the waiter and watched as he left their table, only then reaching out and grabbing at Chase’s hand to stop his finger from moving mid air;

“Ok! I get it! Yes it works on girls!”

Her voice was a low whisper, the grin on her face matching his. He leant closer and whispered into her ear;

“And that was just with my mind, imagine what it’ll feel like when I can actually get my fingers inside you... or my tongue”

He pressed a kiss to her cheek before innocently returning to his own meal, every so often he would swipe his finger through the air and Bonnie would literally feel his magical touch on her most intimate of areas. When their waiter came around to offer dessert they both passed, getting the check and paying before quickly leaving the restaurant, eager to continue their evening elsewhere. Leaving the truck where it was parked they made the short walk to Chase’s house along the waterfront, resting his arm around her shoulder like a gentleman, when in fact his mind was working its magic between her thighs.

The minute they were through his front door they were clutching at each other’s bodies, their lips crashing together for heated kisses as coats were shed, zippers and buttons were unfastened. Their ascent up the stairs was precarious until Chase picked Bonnie up and lifted her over his shoulder, finally setting her down on her feet once they were in his bedroom. Practically leaping together; their lips meeting for another searing kiss as Chase tugged the zipper down the back of Bonnie’s dress, her fingers working on the buttons of his shirt until she pulled back from him, resting both hands on his chest as she pushed him until he fell onto the bed.

He watched as she let her dress fall to the floor, letting out a low whistle as he took in her dark red bra and panties, the garters that held up her stockings framing her thighs. She went to kick her shoes off but Chase held his hand up;

“Could you leave the shoes on?”

Grinning at him she climbed onto the bed, straddling his hips as her fingers worked on the final buttons of his shirt, pulling it from his pants as she leant down and kissed him. She worked her way down his chin and neck, pressing feather soft kisses to his chest as she ran her fingers over his skin. For a moment she could feel surprisingly smooth patches before she realised it was scar tissue. Feeling him tense up as she ran her fingers over the scars again she pulled herself up and looked at him. His voice waivered as he spoke;

“I’m sorry I look like this...”

She pressed a finger to his lips;

“Shhh... you are handsome and sexy, and I wouldn’t be straddling you in just my underwear if your scars bothered me”

She slid her hand down between their bodies, palming his erection through his pants before moving down the bed so she could lower his zipper. Leaning down she pressed a trail of kisses along the dark line of hair that ran down his abdomen, tugging his pants and underwear down his hips further until she could see the base of his shaft. Reaching past the wide band of elastic she grasped him and tugged him free of his clothing, marvelling at his impressive size;

“Oh wow...”

As she lowered her head to taste the clear bead of liquid that had pooled at the tip she felt his hand softly stroking her hair before cupping her cheek. She looked up to watch his reaction as she took him into her mouth, her tongue working against the smooth crown before she sank down, taking as much of him as she could;

“Fuck!”

With the thickness of him in her mouth she found it hard curl her lips into smile; instead she just revelled in the knowledge that he was enjoying what she was doing. She noticed he had raised his other hand, and the moment his finger started to move again she felt his magical touch at her pussy, seemingly able to bypass the lace of her panties and rub along her folds. Letting out a low moan she found her attention waning from what she was doing, his cock falling from her mouth as she was poised over him, her jaw going slack as he tormented her with his mind.

Suddenly he was lifting her, moving her onto the bed and resting her against the soft pillows. She watched as he stood and rid himself of his clothing before he climbed onto the bed and up her body. Their lips met again and Bonnie knew he would be able to taste himself on her tongue, sinking further into their embrace as his hand snaked around her back and released the clasp of her bra. Pulling it from her arms his lips worked their way down her neck before he cupped her breasts, running his tongue over each nipple as his lips returned to kiss her, rolling her hardened teats between his thumbs and forefingers that made her body crave his touch.

The room was filled with soft moans and gasps, Bonnie’s fingernails softly dragging down his back as he slid his hand between her thighs, finally touching her where she wanted it the most, stroking her through her soaked panties. Pulling the dark lace to the side he tentatively stroked through her folds;

“You’re so wet... is this all for me?” cocking his eyebrow he smirked at her

“Says the man that was magically fingering me in public...”

“Oh yes... so I was. Perhaps it’s time for the real thing?”

Grinding his hand against her public bone he deftly slid two fingers slowly into her tight entrance, the heel of his hand rubbing against her clit. The moan that escaped her lips was nothing but the epitome of sin filled pleasure and as he slowly moved his wrist she could feel her essence seeping onto his hand. When he caught her nipple between his teeth and roughly ran his tongue over it Bonnie could feel her world starting to come undone, the way his fingers were curling within her, his hand rubbing against her clit, the beautifully sweet pain pleasure signals that were firing to her brain as he bit into her breast all had that tell tale heat blooming within her stomach, her orgasm crashing over her as she came with such a force she thought she would pass out.

As she relaxed against the soft covers she watched as he wickedly grinned at her, slowly pulling his hand from her before he trailed his still wet fingers over her stomach and up to his mouth. Licking her juices from his hand he went to speak but was stopped as Bonnie swiped her tongue over his open mouth before taking his finger between her lips, tasting herself on his skin. Lifting her hips she wriggled out of the remains of her underwear, leaving on just her garter belt, stockings, and heels.

All the while she’d had his finger in her mouth, her tongue laving at his fingertip before she finally released him with a pop. As he gazed down at her she took the chance to catch him off guard, rolling them over until she was on top, straddling his thighs as his hard cock rested against her drenched pussy. Rocking her hips she could feel herself sliding over him, dousing him until he was slick and ready.

Lifting her hips Bonnie positioned him at her entrance, relishing the stretch his wide tip gave her as her silken walls parted and she sank down onto his thick shaft, groaning as he filled her so beautifully. Dragging her nails lightly down his chest she traced the patterns of his scars, rocking her hips back and forth as she started to grow accustomed to his size until she was able to lean back, resting her hands on his thick thighs and started to ride him. His hand cupped her breasts, kneading them in his palms as his fingers pressed into the soft globes. She watched as his jaw set and felt him thicken within her, his eyes fluttering closed;

“Fuck. Bonnie...” he gritted his teeth as he spoke; “I’m not going to last much longer... it’s been a long time since...”

As his worlds trailed off she snaked her hand down to her clit, rubbing furiously in the way she knew would send her spiralling down into her own orgasm, her body clenching around his until they came together, Chase’s back arching off the bed and thrusting up into her accepting body as he came violently, Bonnie’s tight walls clenching around him as she too came undone.

Finally running out of enough energy to hold herself up she collapsed onto Chase’s chest, nuzzling against his soft chest hairs as he wrapped his arms around her, pressing a kiss to her forehead. They held each other for what seemed like an age, their glowing bodies cooling rapidly until they finally pulled apart. Bonnie kicked her heels off as Chase pulled the duvet over their chilled bodies, pulling her close as he kissed her again;

“That was...”

“Yeah... it was...”

They both giggled as their inability to find the words to convey how ecstatically happy they were at that precise moment, instead just finding peace in the other’s arms, their bodies entwined in their post orgasmic bliss.

After a while Bonnie could feel her throat aching, sitting up and smiling at Chase as he ran his hand up her arm;

“Everything ok?”

“Thirsty... must be all that hard work and heavy breathing we did”

“Wait here, I’ll get you a glass of water”

She watched as he threw the covers aside, grabbing a pair of sweatpants from the side and pulling them on before he disappeared out of the door. After a moment an idea snuck into Bonnie’s mind, swinging her legs over the side of the bed and grabbing what she needed.

As Chase heard her footsteps on the stairs he looked around from the sink where he was filling two glasses, letting out a low whistle;

“Wow...”

Sashaying seductively into the kitchen Bonnie leant against the counter, taking the glass from him, fully aware that he was watching her intently as she downed it and turned to him;

“Everything ok Chase?”

He looked her up and down;

“You are an evil woman”

She grinned and knew her outfit was like kryptonite to men; she was wearing just her heels and the white shirt he’d worn to dinner, buttoned just below her breasts so that it gave him a stunning view of her cleavage. Leaning forwards over the sink she rinsed the glass, stretching more than she needed to simply in the knowledge that it would pull the shirt up high enough to reveal she was bare beneath it. Before she could even switch the taps off she felt his hands on her hips and his crotch pressing against her from behind. Setting the glass down she turned in his arms;

“Do you like my outfit then?”

Not waiting for an answer she slowly took a few steps to the centre island, pressing her hands to the cool marble surface as she stood on her tiptoes, looking over her shoulder as she bit her lip. The look in his eyes was pure lust, his pupils blown wide his irises were just a thin circle around them;

“You’re a fucking devil woman”

“Maybe I’ve just got some magic in me?”

She grinned at him as he came to stand behind her, grinding his hips against her rear;

“Would you _like_ some magic in you?”

Pushing back against him she could feel his cock hard against her crease, reaching around and tugging his sweatpants down as he ran one hand between her thighs, spreading the slick from their earlier lovemaking over her labia. His cock sprung free as the waistband fell down his legs, the material pooling at the floor as he lined himself up and pushed in, groaning as her heat engulfed him.

His hands traced underneath the shirt, stroking over her stomach as he pulled back and thrust into her again, feeling the delicious tug of her tightness each time he withdrew, only for her body to welcome him as he thrust in again. Bonnie was moaning with every slow thrust, wriggling her hips back, eager for more;

“Harder Chase... fuck me harder”

Happy to comply with her request he gripped onto her hips and started to thrust into her, his cock stretching her tight channel and rubbing against that sweet spot deep inside. The sounds of their bodies slapping together with each thrust filled the room, their moans accompanying the soundtrack of their tryst. Chase’s hands moved to her chest, pulling at the shirt until the single button that was fastened flew off and he was able to palm her breasts. With the feel of the soft orbs in his strong hands he increased his thrusts, his cock swelling within her as he fucked her hard against the countertop. Bonnie could feel her body starting to come undone, her walls starting to grip onto his thick shaft with each thrust, her moans getting higher until she finally saw stars, screaming his name as she violently came. Chase followed soon after, the feeling of her pussy clenching around him all too much, and with one final thrust his balls pulled tight to his body as he released his seed deep within her, his hips stuttering as he emptied himself.

Bonnie slumped onto the countertop, the energy draining from her body. Resting her heated cheek against the cool marble she let out a contented sigh;

“That was amazing”

Chase pressed a kiss to the back of her neck and she could feel his smile on her skin;

“I think you’ve got a lot of magic in you now”

The rest of the night was spent in his bed, wrapped each other’s arms, finally falling to sleep with their legs entangled together, Chase pulling Bonnie flush with his chest as he wrapped his strong arms around her, not wanting to let her go.

~*~

Bonnie woke with a start, the bright room quiet – too quiet – and as she reached across the bed she found she was alone. Chase’s side was cool; he’d been up a while wherever he was. Pulling on his shirt from the previous night she padded on bare feet down the stairs, pausing halfway when she heard faint noises from the kitchen;

“Chase?”

When she didn’t get an answer she slowly continued, turning the corner into the kitchen and coming to a halt, the sight before her shocking her brain;

“What are you doing here?”

Professor Pope looked up from his bowl of cereal, his hand poised over the newspaper that he was reading;

“Well... I do live here”

Bonnie’s mind was screaming at her, trying to fathom what was happening, how she missed the fact that he was Chase’s roommate;

“Do you know where Chase is?”

He took a sip of his coffee calmly before replying;

“He’s gone... somewhere. Not sure where. Think he had something to do” She turned to leave, irritated that Chase had just left like that, stopping when she heard Sebastian’s voice; “That’s my shirt by the way”

Anger started to seep into her being, grinding her teeth as she made her way back to Chase’s bedroom.

A few minutes later she was back down the stairs, dressed in her outfit from the previous evening, holding her heels in one hand and the shirt in the other;

“There!” she threw the shirt onto the counter where he still sat; “Tell Chase that the next time he beds a girl, it would be nice for him to actually say goodbye”

Not waiting for an answer she ran out the door, standing on the cold decking as she wondered what the fuck was going on.


	6. Chapter 6

Bonnie stood on the front porch of Chase and Sebastian’s place, looking out over the waterfront as she tried to get a grip of her emotions. The cold Fall wind whipped up the leaves around her, reminding her that all she had on her feet were her thin stockings. Quickly rummaging through her purse she found the small pallet shoes she kept tucked away at the bottom, not used since her clubbing days back when she lived in the city. Quickly putting them on she took a deep breath and started towards her apartment, the first tear rolling down her cheek as she stepped onto the quiet road.

By the time she reached main street her cheeks were wet from her tears, her feet numb from the cold. Very few businesses were open this early on a Sunday morning, but as she continued past the stores she heard the bell over the front door of one of the few places she could go, increasing her pace until she pulled the door of the salon and stepped inside.

“Bonnie! What are you doing here so early?” Rachel stood in the room smiling at her until she saw Bonnie’s red rimmed eyes and the wetness on her cheeks, rushing over to her and pulling her into a hug; “Oh honey, what happened?”

Bonnie couldn’t find the words at first, instead just sobbing into the shoulder of her new friend. The bell above the door tinkled again and before she knew it she heard Lea Ann’s voice but not hearing her words, instead just aware of the friendship they were offering her.

They busied themselves around her; sitting her down and bringing her some hot tea, handing her tissues when the tears wouldn’t stop, waiting until she was ready to speak. Finally Bonnie took a deep breath;

“Thanks girls”

“What did he do? Do I need to go get my husband?”

Bonnie couldn’t help but quietly laugh at Rachel;

“No, its fine. He didn’t _do_ anything...”

“So...?”

“We had a fantastic date... and yes I spent the night with him and it was _magical_...”

“But?”

“When I woke up at his place he was gone. I went to find him but ran into his roommate instead who just sat there looking smug. He just said Chase had gone” Bonnie fiddled with her nails as she tried to keep her voice steady, failing as her lip quivered; “Why would he go? Why not leave a note, or wake me?”

They didn’t have an answer for her; instead they did what they could to comfort her, finally an hour later Lea Ann offered to give Bonnie a ride home, making sure she was ok before leaving her in the quiet of her apartment.

Standing in her kitchen Bonnie wasn’t sure what to do first, her stomach lurched and she steadied herself on the counter as she waited for the wave of nausea to pass. When she realised it wasn’t going to she rushed to her bathroom, her stomach heaving as she violently vomited, the tears running down her cheeks again as she played over in her mind her date and what she could have done to make Chase act the way he did.

When her stomach was finally empty and her throat hurt from dry heaving she finally fell back onto the floor, resting for a moment before she decided she needed a shower and rest.

Bonnie spent the rest of her Sunday curled up in a chair in front of the TV wearing her favourite pyjama’s, not focusing on what shows were on, instead her mind elsewhere.

~*~

The working week was a blur for Bonnie, between the Library, assisting with Professor Pope’s classes, and the Piano lessons, she barely had a moment to sit back and think, her mind being kept busy and away from thoughts of Chase. She hadn’t heard from him all of Sunday, and by Monday lunchtime she’d plucked up the courage to call him, listening to it ring out before his voicemail kicked in. Her voice waivered as she spoke;

“Chase... its Bonnie. I wanted to see if you are ok... Just... call me, ok?”

By Wednesday she’d given up hope of getting a reply, leaving her phone in her bag instead of checking it every ten minutes as she made her way to the campus cafeteria, not having enough energy to make her way into town. Grabbing a coffee and salad from the counter she made her way outside, finding an empty bench under one of the large Cedar trees.

Stabbing at her salad with the fork she pushed a tomato around the container, not really hungry or at least not having an appetite for what she’d chosen. Setting it aside she took a sip of the coffee and grimaced;

“Eurgh!”

A soft chuckle made her look up, surprised to see Professor Pope standing and watching her;

“Professor”

“Please, call me Sebastian” he motioned to the seat and she nodded, watching as he sat down carefully; “Are you ok Bonnie?”

She looked out over the grounds of the school, trying to find the words;

“Have you seen Chase?”

Sebastian cleared his throat and shifted in his seat;

“I’m sorry; our schedules mean we rarely run into each other”

Bonnie felt her shoulders slump with disappointment, not knowing what to do or say. They sat there in silence for a few minutes before he cleared his throat;

“Do you need a ride on Friday evening?”

“Huh?”

“The dance? I presumed you would be getting ready at your apartment?”

“Oh... yes, I am. Umm...”

She wasn’t sure whether to accept his offer or not, unable to tell if he was just being friendly or if there was something else.

“Just as a colleague... and friend” he smiled kindly at her; “I just thought as we’re both off campus and you’ll be in a long dress and heels that you might not want to drive...”

Bonnie took a deep breath and relaxed;

“Thank you Sebastian, yes that would be great”

~*~

Bonnie found herself starting to enjoy being in Sebastian’s presence, arriving early for his classes as they worked together, the students noticing that the mood in the air was more relaxed. When he dismissed them by telling them there would be no homework after the last class of Friday afternoon, they filed out of the room quickly, cheering and laughing as they made their way back to their dorms to prepare for the dance.

As Sebastian was packing papers on his desk he watched Bonnie collecting the reference guides that had been handed out to the class, smiling at her as she came down the steps, faltering on the last step as she didn’t get her footing right. As the pile of books tumbled out of her arms he was suddenly steadying her, his strong hands gripping her arms before she fell;

“Are you ok?”

She stood staring up at him for a moment, taking in his features at such close proximity before she shook her head and came to her senses;

“Yes, thank you”

He released her arms and they bent to pick up the books, their heads knocking together making them laugh. As they stacked the books onto the trolley he cleared his throat;

“I sure hope we dance better than this” he cleared his throat; “So, shall I pick you up about six?”

“That would be great, thanks”

They said their goodbyes, Bonnie eager to get back to her apartment to get ready. The last few days Chase had no longer been at the forefront of her mind and the pain he’d caused her heart had started to fade. As she walked to her car she checked her phone, not surprised when she still hadn’t received anything from him. Sitting in the driver’s seat as the engine ran and the car started to warm up she tapped out a text; one final attempt before she would shut the door on him for good;

_‘I hope you’re ok. Coffee sometime?’_

Hitting send she threw the phone into her purse and made her way home, humming along to the radio as she went.

~*~  
As usual Bonnie was ready well before she needed to be, her hair pulled up into a bun and her makeup simple. Checking over the long fishtail dress she was happy with how she looked, and rather than pacing her apartment she decided to wait outside for Sebastian, pulling her coat around her tightly as she made her way down the steps and stood on the sidewalk.

“Oh hey there Bonnie!”

The sound of a familiar voice made her turn, smiling when she saw Lea Ann walking her aged Bassett Hound slowly down the hill;

“Hi Lea Ann”

“What you all dressed up for?”

“It’s the Fall Ball at Spenser tonight... I’m on chaperone duty”

Her friend laughed warmly;

“You’re in for a busy night then, if it’s anything like it was in my day”

“You went to Spenser?”

“Uh-huh, got in on a scholarship” as she spoke her dog lay on her feet, getting settled as its mistress talked; “Hey, did you hear from Chase?”

Bonnie winced at the sound of his name;

“No... Nothing. I just can’t figure him out” she chewed her lip as she paused; “I mean, we had this amazing night together, and then come the next morning he’s gone. I can’t figure out if it was something I did or something he did...”

At that moment the low rumble of a powerful car turning the corner could be heard making them both look up, Bonnie spotting Sebastian as he drove past in a sleek black Mustang, watching as he turned at the top of the road to come back down to collect her;

“Hey, I’ve got to go, that’s my ride”

As she spoke he pulled up to the kerb, Lea Ann pulled her close;

“You know that’s the creepy guy that bought you those flowers you didn’t want?”

“It’s fine. He’s my boss, it was just a misunderstanding”

“Ok, but if you need anything you give me a call... take my number just in case”

Bonnie quickly programmed Lea Ann’s number into her phone before giving her a hug and thanking her as she said goodbye, watching her walk the un-enthusiastic dog down the street;

“Isn’t that the girl from the flower store?”

Sebastian had gotten out of the car to hold the passenger door open for Bonnie, smiling as she climbed in;

“Yeah, we’re friends”

Making sure she was settled into the seat he tucked the fishtail of her dress in before closing the door, running around to his side and climbing in. As she was buckling herself in he reached for a clear box that sat on the dash, opening it;

“Here...”

Bonnie looked at it in surprise;

“You got me a corsage?”

In the faint light of the car she could have sworn she saw Sebastian blush, but in an instant it was gone as he cleared his throat;

“Actually, all staff are issued with one; you just left school before they were handed out. I thought I’d snag you one before all the good ones were taken”

“Oh” She lifted it and carefully held the blooms before setting it back into its box; “Thanks. I’ll have to put it on when we get there, can’t do it with my coat on”

Sebastian smiled at her and pulled the car away slowly, heading towards the school at an alarming speed. He had no fear of the dangers that could be in their path, accelerating through the bends and as the road opened up on the long straight through the woods he grinned at her before putting his foot down;

“Enjoying the ride?”

Bonnie clutched her seat, not used to travelling in powerful cars. She didn’t answer but it didn’t seem necessary, they were almost at their destination. Upon their arrival Sebastian opening Bonnie’s door and helping her out, offering his arm as they ascended the steps of the main building. The dance didn’t start until 7pm so they were well within time to stow their coats in the cloakroom. As Bonnie hung hers on the hook she lifted the corsage box, taking it out of the packaging and checking the back for a pin, trying to figure out where she was going to attach it to her dress. As she struggled with the awkward angle she suddenly felt a warm pair of hands cover hers;

“Let me help”

Letting Sebastian take it from her she watched as he tentatively slid his fingers beneath the lace neckline of her dress, gently attaching the flowers to the material;

“Thank you”

He stood in front of here for a moment;

“You look amazing tonight Bonnie”

“Thank you.... you look very smart yourself”

Sebastian glanced down at his shirt;

“Oh I don’t know; I think it looked better on you...”                                                                                                                                                                                           

It took Bonnie a moment to realise what he was talking about, but as she looked at him she realised he was wearing the shirt that she’d worn the night of her tryst with Chase. As he came crashing back into her mind she felt her heart sink all over again, biting her lip to stop it from shaking, scrunching her eyes shut as she inhaled sharply before slowly exhaling to calm her nerves.

“I’m sorry Bonnie... I didn’t think... I shouldn’t have mentioned it...”

Opening her eyes she saw Sebastian duck down a little so he could look her straight in the face, a weak smile on his face;

“Shall we make a move? Go be responsible adults and stop the youths of Spenser academy from having any salacious fun?”

The music was already playing as they entered the ball room, the lights low as gold and orange decorations adorned the walls. Soon the Provost took to the stage to welcome staff and students alike, keeping his speech short as he invited the staff to take their places on the dance floor.

“Shall we?”

Sebastian held his hand out for Bonnie which she tentatively took, letting him lead her. Resting one hand in his and the other on his arm as they got into position she could feel the nerves start to rise within her;

“I’m going to make a fool of myself here” she whispered to him; “I should have come to practice with you”

“Shhh... it’ll be fine, just let me lead”

Soon the music started and she found herself being carried along as Sebastian led her around the room, her feet finding their way as he held onto her waist, his attention never waning from her. When the music finally ended Bonnie felt a pang of disappointment; she’d been so lost in the moment and actually enjoying herself that she hadn’t wanted it to end. The staff started to leave the dance floor as the students applauded, Sebastian holding her hand as he led her to the side of the room;

“We should probably get busy... I mean, we should do some chaperoning”

“Right... yes...”

“I’m going to need my hand back to do that...”

“Oh, sorry! Yes of course”

Bonnie let go of Sebastian’s hand, feeling the colour rush to her cheeks. She watched as he smiled at her before heading off towards a group of boys that were loitering by the doorway passing a hipflask between them. Chuckling to herself she head in the opposite direction, soon breaking up arguments and couples that were heading beyond second base in public, the preceding hour disappearing before she’d realised it. It was only when she spotted Sebastian heading towards her hold two glasses of soda did she realise it was time to take a break;

“You want to get some air?” he asked as he handed her a glass

“Thanks, sounds like a good idea” she shouted over the loud music that filled the room.

As they stepped out onto the terrace that skirted the building the door swung slowly shut behind them, shutting out the noise until it was just a muffled beat in the background. Bonnie stood at the wall that edged the area, smiling to herself;

“Dances were _not_ like that when I was at school”

Sebastian stood next to her, turning so he could lean against the wall as he sipped his drink;

“Oh I don’t know, that’s pretty much how I remember it from when I was here”

“You attended Spenser?”

He nodded;

“For a short while”

They let the conversation hang in the air for a moment, Bonnie looking out over the grounds before she felt the chill of the night set into her bare arms, running her hands over her cooled skin as she felt a shiver run down her spine.

“Here, take my jacket”

Before she could protest Sebastian was shrugging off his suit jacket and placing it over her shoulders, the immediate sensation of his body heat still lingering in it warming her skin.

“Thank you... for everything”

He stood in front of her, his gaze intense as he took in her features. They seemed to be frozen in that moment, the rest of the world disappearing into insignificance as their lips drifted closer together until Bonnie could feel his warm breath on her skin, until finally their lips met. For a moment they just stayed that way until Sebastian wrapped his arms around her, pulling her body flush with his so she could feel his arousal pressing against her hip through her dress.

Suddenly Bonnie pulled away;

“No, Sebastian... I can’t...”

He stared down at her with a look of disbelief on his face;

“Oh come on Bonnie, please...”

“No” Placing her hands on his chest she pushed him away, only to find he was gripping onto her arms; “Hey! I said No!”

She wrenched her arms from his grasp, and when he went to grab her again her instincts kicked in and she watched as her hand made sharp contact with his cheek, the sound of the slap echoing around the terrace. For a moment she watched him, expecting anger and vitriol. What she wasn’t expecting to see as he turned back to her was a spread of scars down the side of his face. For a moment she just blinked, not sure what she was seeing as her eyes struggled to focus, but after a few seconds she realised;

“Chase?”

He stood in front of her. Her Chase. The man she’d fallen for so quickly and then who had refused to return her calls.

“What the hell is going on Chase?”

He stood rubbing his cheek, wincing as his fingers touched the raw bruise that was already starting to form;

“Wow, you’ve got a powerful swing there Bonnie”

“I asked; What. The. Hell. Is. Going. On?”

He smirked at her, and she realised it was as if she was seeing Sebastian’s expressions on Chase’s face;

“I needed to see if you wanted him instead of me”

“What?”

“Well... it’s obvious you do. You wouldn’t have ended up making out with him if I meant anything to you”

She let out an exasperated groan;

“You’re a fucking idiot”

Before he could answer she was flinging the door to the ballroom open and striding inside, making her way across the room. He took a deep breath and composed himself, working his magic to shorten his hair and hide the scars again before he followed her, trying to get through the throng of students on the dance floor, catching sight of Bonnie just as she left the room.

Bonnie let the door slam behind her as she stormed through the school, barging into the teachers cloakroom only two discover two students en-flagrante;

"GET OUT!"

She shouted at them as they hurriedly straightened their clothing, rushing out of the door. Grabbing her phone she quickly jabbed at the keys, texting Lea Ann asking for a ride. Almost instantaneously she had a reply, her friend promising to be there in ten minutes.

Just as Bonnie was stowing her phone back in her purse she heard the door open, immediately knowing it was Chase;

"Why did you do it?" When she didn't get an answer she finally turned to him, seeing 'Sebastian'; "You could at least have the decency to not bother to continue with that illusion"

Chase took a deep breath, and as he slowly exhaled his appearance changed back to his natural one;

"I knew you would pick him over me"

"What?!"

"That you would be more bothered by looks than you would admit"

Bonnie glared at him, unable to believe what she was hearing;

"You're a fucking idiot Chase. I fell for YOU. I slept with YOU. And then you were the one to run off and not call me for a week, leaving me to think I was the one that had done something wrong"

"But you... and Sebastian..."

"Sebastian" she said sarcastically, using her fingers to make quotation marks in the air; "was the one person that was nice to me”.

She took a step towards him, her face softening as she realised she should be sad for him;

“Can’t you see that? Can’t you see he – and therefore you – have the ability to be a decent human being? And why did you do it? Why did you create this ‘Sebastian’?”

He didn’t answer her, looking everywhere except at her. She waited for an answer, an explanation, but when all she was met with was a stony silence she slipped her arms out of his jacket and handed it to him, taking her coat and purse as she reached for the door. As she turned her back she heard him;

“Well, he needed a first name, didn’t he?”

Turning to look at him over her shoulder she saw ‘Sebastian’ looking back at her, yet she also saw a broken man;

“When _Chase_ realises what he wants and that people can see the good in him, tell him to find me”

She let the door close behind her, leaving Chase in the cloakroom as she hurried along the corridor, her heels echoing through the silence. Buttoning her coat she pushed through the doors at the front of the building just as Lea Ann was pulling up. Giving her a wave she climbed into the passenger seat of her little sedan, buckling up as they pulled away.

“You want to talk about it?”

“Do you mind if we don’t?” Bonnie said quietly, her attention trained on her lap where she fiddled with her nails.

“Sure”

Lea Ann reached over and gave Bonnie’s leg a gentle squeeze before she returned her attention to the road, driving in silence. It was however that silence that broke Bonnie, the tears starting to roll down her cheeks until she had to wipe them away with the cuffs of her coat. She recognised the lights of Main Street as they entered the town, remaining silent until they pulled up outside her apartment, the car idling quietly as Bonnie attempted to build up the courage to get out, to be alone with her thoughts;

“It was him...”

“What did he do? Do I need to go get my brother? Because I knew that bastard was a slimy creep. Honestly, my bro can make him sorry for whatever he did to you...”

Bonnie couldn’t help but to let out a small laugh, breathless from attempting to hold in so much emotion;

“No... It wasn’t Sebastian...”

“Then who...” Lea Ann trailed off

“Chase was there tonight”

“Oh darling...” Bonnie found herself being engulfed in a warm hug as Lea Ann wrapped her arms around her; “I’m so sorry...”

Finally they parted, Bonnie reassuring her that she would be fine and could sort things out without any assistance from anyone’s burly family members. Waving her friend goodbye as she drove down the street Bonnie finally turned to her building, wearily climbing the steps and letting herself in. Once inside her apartment she shrugged her coat off, hanging it on the hook behind the door before her attention turned to the corsage still pinned to her dress. Unpinning it from the delicate material she held it in her hands, taking in the delicate details of the white flowers before she realised what they were; Freesia’s. Glancing up at the vase that sat on the countertop she saw the rose that Chase had given her before their fateful date, things finally slipping into place;

“Why didn’t I spot it sooner?” she mused to herself

Chase had given her the vivid and loud rose which he’d said previously didn’t suit her, Sebastian had given her the delicate and scented freesia corsage when it was specifically what Chase had said she’d deserved. As the tears started to flow again she got up and gently tucked the ends of the freesia’s into the vase alongside the rose, turning her back on them before calling it a night, her tears the soaking her pillow long into the night.

 


	7. Chapter 7

The Scars of Magic – Chapter 7

The coffee shop Bonnie sat in on a cold Sunday morning was noisy and distracting, making her regret venturing down to main street with a hangover, and making her regret even more the bottle of wine she'd drunk by herself the night before. Finally when a group children decided to run loops around the tables she decided her headache would only get worse she abandoned her drink, pushing through the throng of customers and out onto the sidewalk.

Buttoning her coat she decided some fresh air to clear her head would be the best remedy, heading down the hill to the waterfront, lost in her thoughts.

It had been weeks since the Fall Ball, she'd spent the weekend switching between sad and angry, not able to understand why Chase would deceive her like that, why he would feel the need to act out, or even make the illusion of Sebastian.

After a while Bonnie realised it wasn't anything of her doing, instead when checking some books back into the library one afternoon and seeing a title on trauma she realised it was more that it wasn't just Chase's skin that was scarred, but his mind and soul too. She'd called him, listening to his deep voice of his voicemail message time and time again as she calmly offered to listen, but never getting a reply.

The Monday after the Fall Ball she'd been dreading assisting with 'Sebastian's' class, only to get called to the Provost's office and be told that Professor Pope had a family emergency and would be taking an indefinite sabbatical. At first she was relieved that she wouldn't have to keep up pretences but after the first week of sitting in on the stuffy old substitute professor she was missing Sebastian's unique style of teaching.

As she continued lost in her thoughts Bonnie let her feet lead the way, soon finding herself outside a familiar place; Chase's home.

Standing looking up at the red clapperboards she wondered what he was doing, if she should ring the bell and tell him to him face that she wanted to be there for him, to help him through whatever he was struggling with in his mind. Stepping tentatively up the front porch she could see a pile of mail beneath the mailbox that sat on the wall next to the door, flyers for events that had already happened. Peering in through the window she saw the plants on the kitchen windowsill had long since died, their dry leaves curled and gradually falling from the stems. It was clear that Chase had not been here for a long while.

Skirting around the porch she came to the double garage that was attached to the side of the building, standing on her toes she looked in the small windows on the door, seeing the sleek black mustang but the spot where his truck should be was empty. Rocking back onto her heels she felt that familiar pang of hurt shoot through her heart, telling herself she wasn't going to cry but her body betraying her, the tears rolling down her cheeks as she slumped down against the doors, looking out over the waterfront.

Finally as the sun came out from behind the clouds she felt the weight of her pain starting to lift, letting out a deep sigh as she got to her feet. Setting off for town again she knew where she was heading, the welcoming tinkle of the bell above the door of the Salon spreading cheer into her soul as a small crowd of cheerful familiar faces greeted her.

"Bonnie! You made it!"

Lea Ann, welcomed her with a hug, dragging her into the room and sitting her on the soft couch as she was drawn into the conversation;

"Oh come on... please, you have to come!"

Bonnie took a deep breath;

"I don't know, I probably won't be good company"

Rachel looked up from where she was breastfeeding her newborn daughter, grinning at her;

"Oh come on, I’m going to get my husband to look after Little Miss, Nicky's Bar always puts on the _best_ Halloween nights. I won't be able to drink so you get to have my open bar tab"

"Oh well... if it’s an open bar..." Bonnie joked, deciding a good night out of drinking and dancing with friends would be just what would help her get out of this rut; "And hey, perhaps I can find a single guy that isn't a complete freak"

"That's the spirit!" Lea Ann laughed.

Soon they were sat in front of the Salon's laptop, ordering their costumes through Rachel's Amazon account, Bonnie being over-ruled on the Morticia Addams costume, her friends opting for a much shorter, sexier 'witch' outfit complete with over the knee striped socks and a dress that would barely cover her ass.

Leaving the salon an hour later Bonnie felt giggly with excitement, not realising how much she'd missed socialising with good friends, or how lonely her life in Ipswich had become.

~*~

Bonnie stood in front of the long mirror in her closet and stared at her reflection, letting out a giggle when she saw how her outfit had come together, feeling confident and sexy, finally putting the previous few weeks of anguish behind her. Adjusting the black and white socks over her knees she straightened the tops, making sure the little red bows were level. Smoothing the short skirt of the dress down she turned on the thin heels of her boots and checked the view from the side and behind, comfortable that she wasn't showing too much thigh, but pleased with how it gave a tempting glimpse of her bare skin. The ribbon laces over the front of the dress were pulled tight, pushing up her cleavage as the edges of the purple lace bra she wore beneath just peeked over the trim of the dress. Adding a final swipe of dark purple lipstick to her lips she puckered up and smiled, pulling on her warm coat before finally placing the pointed witches’ hat on her head.

With a smile on her face she made her way out of her apartment, grinning at Lea Ann who was walking down the sidewalk just as she exited the building.

"Come on, let’s see then!"

Bonnie held her coat open and flashed her friend the costume briefly before wrapping it back around her.

"Wow. You look fucking amazing! You're definitely not going home alone tonight!"

"Oh I don't know about that, but I’d hope for at least a couple of phone numbers" her smiled spread from ear to ear as they set off for main street; "Hey, what about your outfit?"

Lea Ann paused and opened her coat, showing Bonnie the prim black dress with collar before tugging on the pigtail plaits that framed her face;

"Niiiiice... Wednesday Addams! I like it!"

"Well, I am a married woman; I couldn't exactly go as sexy as you!"

They continued to laugh as they quickly made their way through the cool night, passing families of trick or treaters heading home, others heading in the same direction as they were towards the steady beat of the loud music that was coming from Nicky's Bar.

Once inside they met up with Rachel and the others girls from the Sunday salon mornings, soon hitting the dance floor with drinks in their hands, moving to the music and soon lost in the moment.

When a pair of hands rested on her hips from behind Bonnie turned, seeing a handsome face through the darkness of the bar;

"Hey! I'm Aaron"

"Bonnie"

She soon found herself dancing with him, he wasn't her usual type; he seemed almost too confident of himself, his smile was almost a sneer. But as she danced with him she found her hands resting on a pair of bare arms, the sculpted biceps firm under her touch. When his hand brazenly slipped beneath her skirt grabbed her ass she wanted to respond, to be excited at the advance, but something made her pull back;

"Sorry... I just need to go to the ladies room..."

Not waiting for a response she slipped through the crowd, making her way to the hallway at the back of the bar, the door closing behind her and shutting the music out until it was just a muffled beat. To her right were the restrooms, but to her left was the door outside, leading to the small yard at the back of the building where they kept the empty kegs and bottles.

Pushing through out into the cold night air she wrapped her arms around her, her breath coming out in clouds of mist as frost started to form as the night cooled rapidly. The sound of loud music behind her made her turn, seeing Aaron come through the door;

"Oh Hi..."

"Are you bailing on me sweet cheeks?"

She stood nervously on the wooden steps, suddenly painfully aware that she was all alone and in a vulnerable state;

"No, of course not. There's just a queue for the ladies room and I thought I’d grab some fresh air" she lied, taking a step back until she felt the cold wall of the bar behind her.

Aaron took a step towards her;

"You're so fucking sexy Babe..." he grinned at her, like a predator stalking its prey; "We're all alone out here..." he placed a hand flat on the wall above her head, his lips in a cruel smile as they lowered towards hers. Bonnie found her hands shot up to his chest, pushing him back but finding it was like trying to move a mountain, the hardness of his muscles staying solid against her efforts;

"Oh you're not going to bail on me now are you babe?"

He lunged forwards, pressing his body to hers as his lips crashed onto her mouth, muffling her cry of surprise as she attempted to wriggle from his grasp, turning her head as he continued to try to force himself upon her, her words of No falling on deaf ears. As her chest welled with air ready to scream he was suddenly wrenched away from her, his body flying down the steps as he landed in a lump on the frosty ground.

He rolled onto his back and shook himself;

"What the fuck?!"

"I believe the lady said no..."

Bonnie turned towards the familiar voice, watching as a figure emerged from the shadows.

"Stupid bitch" Aaron spat out as got to his feet, raising his fists as Chase took a few steps closer; "I saw that piece of ass first"

Chase suddenly moved his hand, flicking his wrist and Aaron was flying backwards through the air, crashing into a pile of empty kegs.

Bonnie stood at the top of the stairs, her jaw agape as she watched Chase protect her, as Aaron climbed to his feet and stagger off down the alleyway.

Chase turned, looking up at her, the look of sadness on his face breaking her heart;

"I'm sorry Bonnie"

He turned to go, slowly making his way back into the darkness towards main street;

"Chase!"

Her voice made him stop, and as he turned she was running towards him, throwing herself into his arms as she buried her face in his neck;

"Don't go... please..."

For a moment he was tense and Bonnie worried he would reject her, to shut her out, but as his arms closed around her waist she felt his body soften;

"I'm sorry.... so so sorry Bonnie..." his voice was muffled as she felt his face press to her shoulder, the dampness from his tears starting to soak through the thin material of her costume as he continued to repeat himself, muttering sorry again and again.

Finally he set her to her feet, smiling as she reached up and gently wiped away his tears with her thumb;

"Bonnie..."

"Yeah...you're sorry..." She smiled at him; "Why did you go?"

"You hated me... I didn't want to hurt you anymore that I already had done"

"Oh Chase... I didn't hate you, I don't hate you. It took me a while but I realised that it was you that needed my help. I finally understand why you did it... and I want to help you still..."

"Really?"

"Yes, you fool!" she laughed kindly; "Dating you is like dating someone still in high school!"

He looked down, ashamed as the blush spread across his cheeks;

"Its funny you should say that... I haven't dated anyone since high school..."

Bonnie felt her heart drop;

"Oh my god, I’m so sorry... I didn't realise..."

She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and pulled him tight to her, cradling his head in her hands;

"The accident happened in high school, didn't it?" He nodded as she continued; "And that was what, ten years ago?" Another nod; "You're one of the Sons of Ipswich, aren't you?"

He pulled back and looked at her, relief spreading over his face; "How did you know?"

"I couldn't help but to start reading up on it after you left. I put two and two together but came up with five, I couldn't figure out how you fitted in..."

He took a deep breath;

"There was a fifth family... Pope..."

"Sebastian?" Bonnie asked

"Yeah, Pope is my birth name, Chase Pope. When I was adopted I was given the family name" he took a deep breath; "I knew when I got the job at Spenser I knew they would recognise my name, I’ve kept under their radar when going by Chase when in Ipswich..."

"Why did you take the job at Spenser? And how did you get it if you didn't finish high school?"

"I needed closure. And I lied. It was easy to conjure some fake qualifications.... Believe it or not I was actually good at my studies, and I love to read. I knew I could do what I needed to do, but I just couldn't do it as Chase. Since I left I couldn't face being him, I’ve been Sebastian since the night of the Fall Ball, not wanting to see the scars, not wanting to be reminded of the face that broke your heart"

Bonnie felt the first tear roll down her cheek;

"But you're here, now, as Chase"

"I had to be me to help you"

"Huh?"

"It takes all of my powers to hold the transformation into Sebastian... to hide the scars. I had to drop the illusion to help you"

Bonnie hugged him tight;

"Thank you"

She stood on her tip toes and pressed her lips to his, their kiss tentative at first before she sank into his embrace, their kiss deepening until she felt a shiver run through her.

"We should get you inside; you'll freeze out here in that tiny dress..."

She watched as Chase pulled back and looked her up and down, a smile transforming into a grin;

"Even though you're cold you look fucking hot in that" she took his hand and slowly led him to the wooden steps of the bar as he continued; "Hell, if you wore that for me I would be your bitch, you could do anything to me... I would be your wi-atch"

Bonnie stopped and groaned;

"That was fucking terrible" she laughed; "Please never say that again!"

Pushing through the door to the bar a wall of noise hit them, Bonnie leading the way as she weaved through the crowd back to where her friends were still dancing;

"Hey! Where did you get to? We saw you disappearing outside with Aaron..." As Lea Ann said the creep’s name she glanced up and realised it was not Aaron that was holding Bonnie's hand...; "Oh..."

"Aaron was a creep that tried to force himself on me... Thankfully Chase appeared..."

Her friends glanced from Bonnie to Chase and back again, finally Rachel spoke up;

"We don't need the details - for now - but is everything ok? You're good?"

Bonnie looked up at Chase and smiled;

"Yeah... we're good..."

Soon drinks were served and Bonnie was able to lead Chase onto the dance floor, their bodies moving against each others as the music washed over them, the hard beats sinking into their soul's as they started to grind against one another, Chase's lips dancing over her earlobe;

"How about we make a move?"

Bonnie's hand was in his immediately, grinning as she grabbed her coat on the way out of the bar;

"My place... it’s nearer..."

As they stepped out onto the sidewalk and the door to the bar closed she found herself swept up into his arms, their kiss becoming heated as he pulled her flush with his body. They groaned as he pushed his hips forward and they could both feel his cock hard within his jeans;

"I'm not sure if I can wait that long..." Bonnie said breathlessly as she broke free of his lips.

Chase grabbed her hand and pulled her into the alleyway that ran along the side of the bar, ducking under the wooden steps and into the sheltered darkness that was able to hide their passion.

Pressing her against the cold wall Chase's hands were pulling at the strings of her dress, pressing open mouthed kisses to her chest as his hands slipped beneath her skirt, wrapping around the crotch of her panties as he yanked them down her legs, stepping back briefly to help her step out of them before shoving them into his jacket pocket. Immediately he was back upon her, his lips and tongue tracing patterns over her neck and collarbone whilst his hand slipped beneath her skirt, stroking through her slick folds as she groaned with pleasure. Her hands flew to his jeans, making quick work of his fly as she slipped her fingers into his boxers, pulling the elastic down to free his cock.

Pumping her fist along his thick shaft with one hand, she wrapped the other around the back of his neck, holding his cock as he lifted her, his hands cupping her ass as she positioned him at her entrance, letting out a yelp as he filled her with one forceful thrust.;

"Oh fuck....  Yes.... Chase, please... fuck me hard..."

He didn't disappoint, his powerful hips snapping back before immediately filling her again, stretching her with each entry as her body welcomed him, the base of his cock rubbing deliciously against her clit each time he bottomed out, his balls slapping against lewdly against her ass as he bounced her on his cock.

Bonnie soon felt the welcome heat bloom in her stomach, knowing she was close, her walls gripping him tight as he continued to pound into her until she saw stars, coming with such a force that when Chase thrust into her one final time she could feel her essence squirting around his cock, soaking their thighs as they came together.

As his shaft twitched deep within her womb Bonnie clung to Chase, pressing kisses to his face as they both caught their breath. Finally he softened and pulled out, wincing as her tight walls dragged over his sensitive flesh, helping Bonnie stand on wobbly legs.

"Could I have my panties back please?"

He laughed as he fished them out of his pocket, but was surprised when she used the small scrap of soft cotton to wipe their juices from his cock and thighs before using them on herself as he zipped himself up. Throwing them into the nearby dumpster she took his hand;

"My place?"

"Definitely"

As they walked quickly to Bonnie's apartment she felt a warm glow as Chase wrapped his arm around her hip, falling into step together.

~*~

The bright morning light made Bonnie wince, her head pounding as she regretted drinking quite so much at Nicky's bar the night before. The feel of a warm arm draped over her hip had her instinctively moving back against the source, the plains of a hard body pressed to her naked skin as she felt a pair of lips press a kiss to the back of her neck;

"Mornin' Sweetheart"

"Mmmmm morning..."

She wriggled her bottom against Chase and could feel the welcome nudge of his cock against her crease. Turning in his arms she lay flat on the mattress, taking in his soft features, his lips already plump, but also bruised from their kisses the night before. When he kissed her again she smiled at the brush of his stubble against her skin, unable to hold back the smile that spread across her face;

"Do you think I screamed enough last night?"

"It was Halloween..." he looked at the floor where their clothing lay in a trail towards the door; "You don't have to return that costume do you?"

"No, I just have to pay Rachel for it; she ordered it on her Amazon account"

"Oh thank god... after we've cleaned it you are so wearing that again"

Bonnie laughed as she moved, pushing him back against the mattress and straddled his hips, reaching over him to grab the pointed hat that sat on the nightstand. Putting it onto her head she sank down onto him;

"There's always room for a little more magic..."


End file.
